Boy, Intertwined
I don't own Harry Potter or any related entities.
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"To be honest Potter, I never really thought you were all that great at the beginning of this year."
"The feeling is mutual, Diggory."
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So much had transpired during Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts. From the scandals and challenges posed by the Triwizard Tournament to his isolation from his peers. It all seemed to lead up to this very moment.
Heart pounding to the wild beat of desperation, skin searing with chilling sweat dripping down his brow, Harry sprinted with all the determination he could muster as he navigated through the eerie hedge maze towards the Triwizard Cup. His vision was cloudy and tunneled, and it seemed like everything except for his stumbling feet before him was black. He felt clunky and sloppy, using all his might to steer his exhausted body around the tight corners of the maze. Finally, there it was.
It seemed ethereal and surreal in its surroundings. The Triwizard Cup sat straight ahead from Harry's current position, staring at him with its dazzling, gleaming handles.
As the maze led into the open space where the Cup was seated, Harry noticed Cedric also bolting full-speed towards the prize to his right. Harry also noticed an Acromantula burst onto the path and attack Cedric. This is where our story begins.
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"I'm still shocked that you saved me," Cedric muttered, panting.
"What, you thought I was going to leave you to die there?"
"To be honest, yeah. I mean who wouldn't? Look at it. The Cup. You could have just grabbed it and it all would have been over. The glory, the fame, regaining the respect of our fellow students? How could you have passed that up?"
The Cup still stood on its perch, seemingly glaring ashamedly at Harry. For some reason, it seemed more like a burden to him than the light at the end of the tunnel it had been a hundred meters back.
"Because I see myself in you." Cedric arched his eyebrow at Harry's response.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"So much burden on you to do great things. Sometimes I can see your knees buckle under the pressure, but only for an instant." Harry studied Cedric's face carefully.
"No hypothesizing about my motives please. You of all people should understand my dislike of being scrutinized."
"Fair enough. But Diggory, how come you doubted me so much?"
"I just assumed you were basking in the glow of all the attention. I guess I placed too much trust in all those chattering voices in my ears."
"I suppose you did," Harry said with a slight grimace.
"Bad call on my part, mate. Start over?" Cedric asked hopefully, his right hand outstretched. Harry hesitantly shook it.
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"So if you don't want a job at the Ministry, how come you're letting your father force you into one?"
"You don't understand, they have my whole life planned out according to how they think their son should fulfill their wishes," Cedric explained in bitter tones. The two stood in silence for a while, soaking in the images of each other as they had never seen before. An outsider might have thought it curious, the two rival Hogwarts champions simply standing in front of the Triwizard Cup, leisurely conversing as though the grand prize was merely a vase on a coffee table.
"But enough about me. Teach me something about yourself, Harry," Cedric offered.
"Don't you know all that from the papers, anyway?"
"No, I mean something of value, something that will help me to paint a good picture of who you are."
"Hm...well I'm not a huge follower of Quidditch to be honest with you. My favorite part of the whole sport is just that rush I get when I soar through the air," Harry mumbled, not really sure of any interesting facts about himself that Cedric, scratch that, the whole wizarding world, didn't already know. Harry suddenly noticed how close Cedric was to him when he felt his hot, uneven breath on him. His face was merely inches away, and that distance seemed to be shortening quickly...
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One day ago, Harry would never have thought that he would spend the final stretch of the Triwizard tasks softly kissing and embracing Cedric Diggory. It's shocking how unevenly fate's path unwinds sometimes.
All Cedric could see at that moment was the bottle green color of Harry's eyes, and he was sure he would never be enveloped in such a green light again. He watched Harry's eyes through the round lensed glasses, unfaltering, swirling, piercing. Harry's pink lips slowly unfurled, to utter something so gently that somehow brought Cedric crashing back down to earth so forcefully.
"It's time to get a move on, Cedric."
"Take the cup."
"No. We'll take it together, and have the rest of our lives to spend together as well," Harry said, smiling bashfully, and Cedric brought his lips to Harry's once more. He was just too precious.
A passionate kiss in the throes of desperation and uncertainty. A savage kind of pleasure where the world seems to be slowly falling all around you.
So they both grabbed the Cup.
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Uh...hmm. I don't know if that was depressing or not. Sorry it was rather cliche. Did you notice the cryptic foreshadowing about Cedric and green light? Okay, well...review please?