So, lookie here! An actual new story. And it isn't inception! Sorry for all the people who follow me, I know it is probably for inception, but I wanted to do something different. But I actually have another inception story to start and it should be posted later this week. So get excited. But none of you will probably see this.
Anywho, I wrote this story back in 2010 and it has just been sitting there for two years. So I apologize because this is probably awful. I went through and tried to fix it, so hopefully it is okay. I just wanted to post something in this fandom as well. So, enjoy and I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Practice
Hermione Granger sat in the library in her little corner that was away from everyone else by herself. She wasn't by herself before this. Harry and Ron were here a while ago, but Harry made them leave because it was obvious that Hermione was getting rather impatient with Ron. But really, what was new?
All he did now and days was tease her about her date for the Yule Ball. He thought she didn't have one, when in fact, she did have one. Victor Krum had asked her. The Victor Krum had asked Hermione Granger to the ball. It was unbelievable. It was a fairtytale come true.
Hermione had to keep pinching herself to make sure that it had in fact really happened. She had begun to notice the signs before he did it though. She just didn't want to look into it too hard. But Viktor was always around in the library. It seemed that every time she was there, he was too. And he was always looking at her.
But Ron couldn't believe that she would have a date. When he realized that she was a girl and asked her to the ball, it was too late. So now he kept saying that she was lying. And poor Harry, Hermione knew that he had no idea what to do. He had just got Ron's friendship back so he really didn't want to ruin that again.
But he had told Hermione that he believed her and that he would try and get Ron to cut it. But that didn't really work. Once Ron was on something, it was hard to get him off.
She shook those thoughts from her mind and looked at her Charms book. She needed to focus on that. She had an essay due next week and she wanted to get it done early so she could focus more on the ball. She had a lot of things to get done, like her dress, her hair, make-up. The list was endless.
She was so into the book, or in her own mind, it is kind of hard to differentiate at the moment, that she about jumped to the ceiling when Ginny plopped herself next to her and slammed her book down.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Ginny said with a smile.
"It's ok." Hermione replied with a smile. "I was out of my mind for a bit."
"You wouldn't happen to be thinking about Viktor Krum, now would you?" She said with a smirk.
"No." She said as she looked away. She heard Ginny scoot closer to her.
"Well, you aren't going to learn anything from that stupid Charms book." And with that, Ginny grabbed the book from her hands and tossed it aside. Hermione looked over at her, shocked expression on her face. You do not just throw books around like they were nothing!
"What are you doing?" She asked in her usual scolding voice.
"Relax. I stole this from Lavender. I think it would do you some good. They have an excellent article about hair. But what you want to look for is this." Ginny said as she opened the magazine to a certain part. Hermione really shouldn't even be considering looking at this stupid witch magazine. It was pointless. But she knew Ginny would force her to anyways so she might as well get it out of the way now. Hermione looked down. It was a guide to "Giving Your Man the Best Kiss of His Life." Hermione rolled her eyes. Of course.
"Ginny…."
"Come on Hermione."
"What makes you think that Viktor will even kiss me?" She asked. It was true. And it wasn't like Hermione hadn't thought about it. She had actually, a lot. She had never kissed anyone before and to tell the truth, she was scared to.
She didn't know what to do if he tried. What if she was really bad and he went around and told the whole school that Hermione couldn't kiss to save her life? Hermione would be doomed if that happened. But truth be told, she didn't really think that Viktor would want to kiss her anyways. No one thought of Hermione that way. Viktor probably just felt sorry for her and that was why he asked her to the ball.
"He is a man Hermione, believe me, he will try." Hermione rolled her eyes. If every man wanted to kiss someone, why hadn't Ron tried to kiss her yet? Wait? What did Ron have to do with anything? He was just a stupid git.
"Ginny…." Hermione tried again. She didn't want to hear this from Ginny. She was younger than her and it seemed like she had more experience than her. It was kind of sad.
"No complaining. Just read it. It won't kill you. No harm ever came from reading a magazine." She said as she stood up. "It is a very interesting article."
"Did you read it? Do you really think that Neville is going to kiss you after the ball?" Hermione asked with a smirk of her own.
"Shut up." Ginny said as she walked away. Hermione just laughed as she closed the magazine and grabbed her book again.
She opened it up and found her spot and continued reading where she had left off. She really needed to get this done. She needed to focus.
And she was focused, for the first 10 minutes. But she could see the magazine in the corner of her eye and it kept distracting her from her work.
She quickly grabbed it and put it in her book so it looked like she was reading her book. Hermione smiled at her cleverness. Everyone would think that she was reading her Charms book when she really wasn't. It was so clever and perfect. Hermione, you really are a genius.
She read the article about hair first, just in case someone came over to her. And it was very interesting. She thought she found a spell in there that could help her with her hair and to tame it so that she would actually be able to do something with it. She would have to thank Ginny later if the spell works.
She then felt a little braver. She turned the magazine to the kiss article. She decided that she had every right to know what to expect if Viktor would try and kiss her. You know, just in case. She always made sure that she was prepared. That was all this was, just her being prepared.
She just wouldn't get her hopes up. She didn't want to get hurt in the end. She would just be prepared just in case.
She was so into the article that she didn't hear that someone was saying her name.
"Hermione?" Hermione jumped at the new voice.
"What?" She asked as she closed the book on instinct. She didn't want whoever it was to see what she had been reading. There was a small laugh from the other person. She looked up and saw none other than Cedric Diggory. Hermione felt her cheeks go warm.
"That book must be really interesting. I said your name like 10 times." He said with a smirk.
"Sorry. I have had a lot on my mind." She said with a little smile. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I wanted to ask you if I could sit here. It seems that everywhere else is kind of full." She looked around and sure enough, most of the tables were full. "I wanted to ask before I just plopped myself down." At least he had some manners. Not like two boys she knew.
"Sure. You can sit here."
"Thanks." He said with a smile as he sat down. She then opened her book and the magazine back up and turned to the page she had just been reading. Apparently, when you kiss, you can use your tongue. Hermione had never thought of that. It seemed like a rather weird thing to do.
Anyways, she continued reading the article. She was in the process of reading about the proper placement of the hands when she heard her name. She looked up and saw Cedric looking at her.
"Yes?" She asked.
"What are you reading?" He asked. She gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean? I am reading my Charms book. What does it look like I am reading?" She asked. Was she really having a conversation with this man? She has never said one word to Cedric Diggory before today, and now, here he is, sitting across from her and talking to her like they have been friends their whole lives.
"Charms can't be that interesting." He said with a smirk. Hermione saw that his book was closed and it looked like he hadn't even started on anything.
Had he been watching her the entire time?
"Well you are wrong because it happens to be quite interesting." She said with confidence. She had to be in control here. She wouldn't lose her confidence because Cedric Diggory was questioning her reading habits.
But her confidence faded with his next words.
"What are you reading about?" He asked. Curse him. What had she been reading about before he came along? She couldn't for the life of her remember. This sucks. This was not like Hermione at all. She always remembered everything!
"Locking charms." She said with a smile. Ha! Let him question that lie.
"Hmmm. I don't ever recall learning locking spells in my fourth year." He said as he leaned back in his chair.
"It isn't for class, it is out of habit." She said with a smile. She had to remain control in this conversation. She did not want Cedric Diggory to know what she was really reading. She would never hear the end of it if he did. He would tell the whole school.
"Do you lock people away in your spare time Miss Granger?" There was that stupid smirk again.
"Do you always question people's answers Mister Diggory?" She said with a smirk of her own. Two can play at this game.
"I just want to know what you are reading."
"Why?"
"Curiosity is in all of us Hermione."
"Curiosity killed the cat." She said with a smile. He gave her a confused look.
"What?"
"Sorry. It is a muggle expression." She then crossed her arms. "What makes you think that I was reading something else?"
"Well," He said with a smile as he leaned forward. "I can see the interest in your eyes that couldn't come from a Charms book and for the small little fact that there is a magazine sticking out of your book."
Hermione looked down and saw that in fact, the magazine had been sticking out. She went to grab the book, but he had his wand out and had it flown to him in seconds.
"Cedric!" She said, standing up. "Give it back."
"Relax." He said with a smile as he opened the book and found the magazine. Hermione sat down and banged her head against the table. She was in so much trouble right now. "Witch Weekly." She looked up and saw him looking at her. "I never thought Hermione Granger read gossip magazines." He said with a smirk.
"Ginny Weasley gave it to me. She told me there is an excellent article in there about taming your hair. And how would you know what I am like anyways?" He laughed and pointed his wand at the magazine.
"Reveal." He said in a whisper. The magazine papers started flipping over. Hermione just watched in horror. Once they stopped, Cedric let out a little laugh. Hermione closed her eyes. "Giving your man the best kiss of his life."
Hermione felt her cheeks redden. This was so embarrassing.
"It's not what you think." She wanted to explain to him what she was really doing. She didn't know why, but she felt guilty all of a sudden. She felt that he needed to know the truth.
"Where you trying to learn how to kiss from a magazine?" He asked. She didn't want to look at him but she couldn't pull her eyes away. Looking at him now she realized that he had some pretty amazing blue eyes.
"Ginny thought I should know before the ball….just in case." She whispered.
"Who are you going with?" He asked.
"Why does it matter?" He was being very persistent with this and she wasn't sure what to do.
"I am curious." He said with a smirk.
"Who are you going with?"
"Cho Chang." Hermione almost wanted to laugh. No wonder she had turned Harry down. Poor Harry was going to be very upset when he found out. "Now, who are you going with?"
"Viktor Krum." She said in a whisper.
"Nice." He said with a smirk. He then closed the magazine. "Well Hermione, you can't learn to kiss from a magazine. It just isn't possible."
"Well unless you have any suggestions, I really need to get back to my essay." She looked down and was hoping he would leave. She looked up when she heard some shuffling. Cedric was now standing up right next to her.
"Actually, I do have a suggestion." She then saw him extend his hand out towards her.
"What?" She asked, glancing at his hand then back at him.
"Come with me."
"Cedric….." He then grabbed her hand and pulled her up. What was up with him? This is just weird.
"Come on. I thought Hermione Granger liked a challenge." She rolled her eyes as he pulled her through the library.
They were heading to the very back. She knew what people did back here. Everyone knew what people did back there. But why would Cedric bring her back here? Her of all people?
Hermione was too busy thinking about being in the back of the library that she wasn't paying attention and ran right into Cedric, who had stopped walking. She backed up and looked around. She had never been back here so she might as well observe it all. All of the books were covered in dust like no one had checked one out in centuries. She would occasionally see a hand print here and there. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Cedric.
"Ok Cedric, what's up with bringing me back here?"
"Well, if you really want to know how to kiss, all you need to do is practice." Hermione's heart stopped beating for a couple seconds. What did he just say?
"What?" She whispered out as Cedric just laughed.
"I am going to practice kissing with you." She took a step back.
"Um….Cedric. I don't know you. I haven't even said a word to you. I have barely even been anywhere near you, except for the Quidditch World Cup, but I hardly think that matters…" She was rambling. She knew she was. But she always rambled when she was nervous.
"It is just a kiss, Hermione." He said it as if it was nothing. It may be nothing to him but it meant something to her.
"But it would be my first kiss."
"Did you want to learn or not?" He asked. She just looked at him. He had a point. She crossed her arms. She suddenly felt really uncomfortable standing here with him.
"This just seems weird." She said as she looked around. She wanted to make sure no one was looking at them or had seen them. She didn't need more gossip about her. It was bad enough what people were saying about her and Harry.
"You need to relax." She saw him take a step forward.
"Aren't you dating Cho?" She said suddenly.
"I am helping out a friend. We are friends, right?" Hermione wouldn't really consider them friends, but she knew she wouldn't win an argument with Cedric Diggory.
"I guess." She said quietly. He smiled.
"Ok. And besides, no one will find us back here." He then took another step forward and Hermione had to crane her head back to look at him. She didn't remember him being this tall.
"Ok. So what are we going to do?"
"Kiss me." He said quietly.
"Um..what?"
"Kiss me." She took a deep breath and leaned up, but then she pulled away quickly.
"Don't judge ok. I have never done this before."
"I won't judge." He said with a smile. "Now, kiss me." She closed her eyes and put her hands on his shoulders. She stood up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his.
She pulled away after a few seconds.
"How was that?" She said with a smile. He smiled.
"Well, it was good, if I was your father. That was a bloody awful kiss Hermione. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a kiss."
"You said you wouldn't judge." She said as she crossed her arms and glared up at him.
"Well, it was that bad. I couldn't help it. You would make Viktor run away back to his ship if you kissed him like that."
"Did you do this just to make fun of me?" She felt a little hurt. She had heard some rumors about Cedric being a jerk, but she had hoped it was just rumors. Harry hadn't really said much about him.
"No. Just try harder." He said with a reassuring smile. "You have to make it lasts more than one second."
"Well it is hard because I will not be initiating the kiss."
"True." He said as he took a step back. "You have a point. Ok then." He then took a step forward. "Well Hermione, I had a wonderful time tonight." He said with a smile. She smiled. He was role-playing.
"I did too Cedric."
"You mean Viktor. I don't think Viktor would appreciate it if you called him Cedric at the ball." Hermione gave a little laugh.
"I guess you're right." She said with a smile. Cedric took another step forward.
"Well Hermione," He said as he took both of her hands. He then leaned his face closer to hers. Hermione instantly closed her eyes. "I had a pleasant time this evening." He whispered and she could feel his breath on her face.
Next thing she knew Cedric was kissing her. And it was amazing. At first she just stood there, letting Cedric lead, but then something snapped in her. Heat soared throughout her entire body. She reacted to his kisses like her life depended on it. She let herself get lost in the kiss, letting her hands roamed up his chest and wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her.
It wasn't long before she felt his tongue begging for entrance into her mouth. She opened her mouth and let out a little moan as their tongues battled against each other, each one fighting for control. When she had read about this, she didn't think it would feel this good.
His hands tightened at her waist, pulling her so that their bodies were touching in every possible way. Her hands ran through his hair, brushing along his scalp. She couldn't help but notice that he had really soft hair.
Hermione almost forgot that she needed to breathe. She pulled away from Cedric quickly and caught her breath. She was taking such deep breaths she was sure everyone could hear her. But she could hear that Cedric was taking deep breaths as well so she didn't feel so bad.
She then looked up at him to see how he was reacting to this. His face was flushed and she could see that his lips were beginning to swell a bit. His hair was a complete mess. She didn't even want to know what she looked like if he looked like that. She probably looked a thousand times worse.
"Um…." She said as she looked down. "How was that?"
"Good." He said and Hermione could have thought that he sounded a little out of breath. "Did you enjoy that?" He asked as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Yeah. It was a very good first kiss." Hermione said as she looked away. It felt kind of awkward now. She had just kissed someone that she didn't even know who also had a girlfriend. She was a horrible person. She had enjoyed it way too much.
"You know," He said as he ran his hand through his hair again. "There really is no harm in practicing again." Hermione smiled back at him. Cedric was just full of great ideas today.
"True. Practice does make perfect." Hermione had no idea why she agreed with him but she didn't care right now. She just wanted to kiss him again. Let the consequences be damned.
"Good." He said as he closed the gap between them and put his arms around her waist and pulled her up to him and crashed his lips to hers. She instantly ran her fingers through his hair and she thought that she heard him give out a little grunt.
Cedric pushed her back against the book case. Her hand fell down to steady herself on the bookcase and she now realized where the hand prints had come from. Now hers would be added to the collection.
His hands grabbed her hips and forced her legs to wrap around his waist, lifting her up so she was move level with him.
She felt his lips leave hers and go to leave little kisses along her neck.
"Oh…" She moaned out. Even though those kisses felt good, she wanted them back on her lips. She grabbed a chunk of his hair and yanked, pulling him back up to her lips.
Hermione let out a little gasp when his hand slid under her skirt. She was so out of it that she was losing her grip on what was actually happening. She hadn't even realized that she had his shirt pried open a bit. She ran her fingers over the exposed skin and felt muscles. Quidditch did this man some good throughout the years.
After a couple more minutes of making out, they pulled away for air again. Hermione caught her breath and looked down at him. He was smiling down at her.
"That was amazing." Hermione just smiled.
"Yeah." Cedric leaned forward and kissed her again. But this time, it was a just a chaste kiss. She pulled away and gave a little sigh. He rested his head against her chest as her head hit the bookshelf. Both of them were still catching their breathes and were attempting to calm themselves down.
"Was that a good practice?"
"It was an amazing practice." She said as they both laughed. Cedric then straightened up and let go of her waist, slowly letting her down.
Her feet hit the ground and they felt like jell-o. He took a step away from her and she just looked at him. His hair was still a mess and his shirt was all messed up. She realized that she must have looked the exact same way.
She pulled out her wand and made a little mirror appear. Her hair was all messed up. She quickly did a spell to tame it down a bit. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. She fixed up her shirt as well and flattened her skirt so that she looked presentable again.
When she was done, she looked over at Cedric and saw that he was fixing himself up as well. Hermione finally got her courage back and spoke up. She didn't really know what to say now that wouldn't make it awkward, but she felt that she needed to be the one to say something first.
"Well, um…thank you Cedric, for the practice. I feel really prepared now for Viktor and if he tries to kiss me."
"Who?" He asked. She laughed.
"Viktor Krum. He is my date for the ball. And Cho is yours."
"Right." He ran his hand through his hair. She loved it when he did that. It showed that he was nervous. It was nice to see that he had flaws as well. "Well, if you ever need more practice…"
"I will contact you." She said with a smile. "Good luck in the tournament Cedric." She said with a smile as she walked away.
She had a smile on her face for the rest of the day.
When the ball came around, Hermione had a blast. Viktor was such a gentleman and she really liked him. And he seemed to really like her as well. But of course, she knew that Ron had a big problem with her date and it being Viktor.
He had accused her of fraternizing with the enemy. The nerve of him! Just earlier this year he was obsessed with Viktor and wanted his autograph. Now he hated him and couldn't stand to be the same room as him. It was absurd.
She walked along with Viktor outside. And like the end of a normal date, he kissed her. She was prepared for it, of course. And it was nice. It was a kiss. Of course, it was quite simple and nothing like the one with Cedric.
She wanted to kiss Cedric again. But she couldn't think about that. Cedric was with someone, and by the looks of this date, she was going to be with Viktor now. He wanted to see her again and she had told Viktor that she would want to see him again as well.
Viktor had said his goodbyes and made his way back to the Durmstrang ship for the night. Hermione just sat down on a vacant bench, staring around at the grounds.
She was off in her own world when she heard a little cough coming from behind her. She looked over and saw Cedric leaning against a column.
"Hey." She said with a smile as she looked up at the stars.
"Hey." He said as she heard him walk towards her. She felt him sit down next to her.
"Did you enjoy your night, Cedric?" She asked. She didn't look at him. She didn't need to. He was next to her right now and that was enough.
"I did. Did you enjoy your night with Viktor?"
"I did." She said, finally looking at him with a small smile.
"And your wonderful kiss? Did you get it?"
"I did. Although I must say that it wasn't as wonderful as I had hoped it would be."
"It wasn't?" He said with a laugh. "Well, what was it then?"
"It was just good." She said as she smiled at him. Cedric let out a small laugh.
"I think Viktor would be hurt to find out that he isn't a good kisser."
"I never said he wasn't a good kisser, I was just saying that I have kissed someone better." She said as she looked down. Cedric was silent for a bit. She was surprised when she felt his hand on her chin to lift her face up so she was now looking at him.
"And would you like to kiss this experienced kisser again?" He asked as his face moved closer to hers.
"I don't know. He seems a little bit too cocky to me." Cedric just laughed. His lips were hovering over hers. It was taking every ounce of her strength to not grab his face and crash her lips to his.
"Well, Miss Granger, I think you are just as cocky."
"Do you, now?" She said with a smile. He smirked at her before his lips rested on top of hers.
It was a slow kiss, at least it begun as one. Within a few seconds, it heated up. His hands were on her waist, pulling her up closer to him. It was a tad bit awkward since they were sitting, but it was perfect.
After a while he pulled away, but his lips still hovered over hers.
"I think I could make a habit out of this." He said with a laugh as he left kisses along her neck.
"What? Kissing?" She asked as she ran her fingers through his hair. He pulled his face up so that he was now looking right at her.
"No, just kissing you." He said with a smile. Her smiled faded.
"Cedric." She said as she pulled away from. "We can't keep doing this, even though we enjoy it."
"I know." He said after a while.
"We are both with people now. We can't do anything with each other, regardless…." She said as she looked away. She didn't know what this was. These feelings really meant nothing. She barely knew Cedric.
"I understand." He said with a small nod. "This isn't right. I really do care about Cho."
"I can see that. And I really like Viktor." Hermione said as she stood up. "It has been nice meeting you Cedric. I really hope that sometime we really can be friends."
"I would appreciate that a lot." He said as he stood up as well. They just stood there looking at each other for a few moments before Cedric gave her a small smile and walked away. Hermione just watched as he made his way back into the castle.
Hermione turned around and made her way towards the Gryffindor common room, most likely to give Ginny and full account on her night with Viktor.
She never spoke to Cedric again.
So, yeah, that was that. I actually have a butt load of Hermione/Cedric fics just sitting around so maybe I will get around to editing them and posting them. You never know.