Hey guys! So I've been reading a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction, and I especially like Cedric/Hermione, but noticed that there are only a few posted. I am actually planning to continue my Hunger Games story, but there's been a lot of stuff going on at home. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this!
She woke up in darkness. Stretching her aching limbs, she looked around in bewilderment. Where am I? Oh, no. No, no, no. She could have slapped herself.
Yes, it's true. Hermione Granger, ultimate rule follower… Fell asleep in the library. After hours. Oh no! Madam Pince must've locked up while I was sleeping! She was royally screwed, and would have to wait till morning to get out.
It wasn't that she had stayed late to work on an assignment, or had just lost track of time. No, Hermione Granger had been reading a book. Though, it was a good book. She rationalized, as she stood up from the cozy corner she's curled up in. Scratch that. Enthralling, mystical, awe-inspiring…
The second surprise? It was a love story. Now, Hermione Granger was a bookworm. She loved all things books. Except romances. She hated anything mushy; thought it was too unrealistic. She squealed at the thought of brand new textbooks, with pages just waiting to be turned; she did a happy dance when she found a new book on the First Five Goblin Wars. She was a non-fiction reader through and through. What exactly possessed her to pick up this fantastic romantic novel again was beyond her.
It did have something to do with a certain brown-haired, handsome, young man, but of course, the thought of Cedric Diggory influencing her romantic whims had never crossed her mind. Or had just been readily dismissed.
It had all started that afternoon. It was Saturday, and Harry, Ron, and Ginny were on their way to Quidditch practice, as the game against Hufflepuff was only two weeks away. After breakfast, she parted with them, and after a moment of wandering the halls decided to find a new book to fill her free hours. As she made her way to the library, she was stopped by a most unpleasant surprise.
Malfoy. Now, Draco Malfoy was a bully. Without him, Hermione's Hogwarts years would be absolutely perfect, but as he was incessantly cruel to her, her days were spent in insecurity, and feeling as though she had to prove herself to wizards like him. Today, she'd had enough. I've finally calmed down about OWLs, I finally have some free time from all of the studying, and I sure as heck am not letting Draco Malfoy ruin my day.
"So, how's our favorite mudblood, eh?" he drawled, earning snickers from Crabbe and Goyle.
She stared him down. "Malfoy, let me pass or I swear to Merlin you'll get hexed so badly you'll go crying to your daddy."
Malfoy took a step closer to her, and she grew frightened. Normally they kept their distance by mutual agreement, but he just broke that, and she no longer felt in control. There weren't even any people in the hallways, and she didn't trust him not to do something seriously bad to her.
"Now why would I want to do that, my little mudblood?" he hissed in her ear.
"I… I-" She was saved from answering when a deep male voice interrupted her.
"Malfoy, you take one more step towards her and you'll regret it."
Hermione looked up and recognized him as Cedric Diggory. He was tall, lean, but well-built. His shoulders were broad and his hair fairly unkempt. She grew red as she realized that she'd been saved by one of the handsomest men at Hogwarts, and on such embarrassing terms, she wanted to crawl into a hole. As she was assessing the risk of being noticed if she just slipped into the broom cupboard some yards away, Cedric addressed her.
"I think you should come with me." His tone of voice left no room for argument, but she sensed that he wanted to avoid as much confrontation with Malfoy as possible.
She sighed inaudibly as she saw that she had no choice, but the awkwardness meter was sure to go up if she went with him. He beckoned her to follow him, and she heard Malfoy hiss something incoherent as she passed him. Probably just another jibe about my heritage. Once they got out of earshot, she let out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. His head twitched to the side, indicating that he'd heard her, but he said nothing. After almost five minutes of silence she spoke up.
"Thank you. I would've sorted it out if you hadn't come along though. I can handle him." Of course, she didn't believe the lie anymore, Malfoy had so obviously freaked her out.
He swiveled his head to face her.
"Hermione," He surprised her by calling her by her first name. She hadn't even known that he'd known it.
"We both know that's a lie. I saw it; you were scared shitless." There was a glimmer of amusement in his light brown eyes.
She chuckled, deciding that she'd have to find some humour in it so as not to have a slight breakdown. "Okay, maybe I was." She said.
He smiled. "So where were you going? I'll escort you there, seeing as you're such a damsel in distress."
She stopped walking, put her hands on her hips, and used her best 'how-dare-you' glare. "I will have you know that I am perfectly capable-" Her speech was cut off by his loud snort of laughter.
She was indignant. He's laughing at me! She thought.
At the extremely pissed off face she made, he stopped laughing and composed himself. "Merlin, they were right! You'd make a bloke take off running when you get all angry like that!"
She felt her anger dissipate. She chuckled, "Well, good. I can also hex, punch, slap, you name it." She felt a surge of confidence and poked him in the ribs. He grinned.
"Alright, so back to business. Where you headed?" He asked.
"The library. I wanted a new novel; I haven't read a new book in ages."
"That's where I was going, I need to research for a Potion's essay. How's about I join you? It might do to procrastinate a bit."
Hermione laughed at that. "Fine, fine. But then I'll make you help me find a book."
When they arrived at the library, Hermione grinned. This place was her home. She breathed in the fresh air coming through the tall open windows and inhaled the smell of aged parchment. She turned to him and caught him laughing to himself.
"What are you laughing at?" she asked, a little miffed.
He quickly composed himself. "Oh, nothing. Let's find you that book, shall we?"
As they browsed through the aisles in near silence, she got increasingly curious. Why exactly is he giving up some of his Saturday to hang out with me? I mean, there's tons of better looking girls his age lining up to hang out with him. Doesn't he have anything better to do?
She took a moment to mentally encourage herself. (This was Cedric Diggory after all).
"So… Uh…" Oh, great. She thought. How very eloquent of you, Hermione. "Why exactly have you chosen to hang out me? I mean, we're not really friends are we?"
He considered this. "Maybe I wanted to talk to someone new? I don't have anything better to do, sans my essay, but I plan on avoiding that for however long I can. How about this one? It seems girly."
She snorted. "Oh yes, and I am the epitome of girliness. No, I'd rather have a nonfiction novel or a field journal."
He nodded, then smiled. "Guess I'll have to know that if we're to be friends, eh?"
She grinned at him, a little surprised. "Guess so. D'you need help with that essay? I read about moonstones a few days ago, maybe I can help…"
And so the friendship started. She'd helped him with his essay after he helped her pick out a few field journals about potions ingredients. They got plenty of stares; Who would have guess that Bookworm Granger would share playful banter with Heartthrob Diggory? They got along well though, and when he bade her goodnight, she felt that they'd be good friends.
And who knew that Cedric Diggory had a brain between his ears? That she had never heard of in the rumors that she always caught snippets of; living with Pravati Patil and Lavender Brown had that effect. She then wandered the aisles, looking for anything they might've missed, as they had spent most of the time getting to know one another. She then came across the love story he'd picked out at first. Her interest piqued, she found a corner and started reading. Right before she fell asleep, she couldn't help but wonder if she might have a prince charming too. And maybe he'll have brown hair, and brown eyes…And she fell asleep with Cedric's face imprinted in her thoughts, though she'd never admit to it.