For the revolution says hi. :)
Cedric watches as Cho grins and leads Harry around the dance floor, carefully trying to keep his feet off the hem of her dress. No one has really noticed them. Everyone is entranced by their own dance partners or too nervous about their looks to enjoy the ball.
Cedric is not within either group. He knows he looks decent enough with his black and silver formal robes, and even though he came to the ball with Eloise Midgen it was so she could attend the ball without people mocking her for being alone. The sweet girl was still perched on his arm, smiling around but very nervously dusting off her dress.
"Your dress is fine, Eloise," he tells her and the girl grins at him with bright eyes and a warm smile.
"Thank you, Cedric," she says and leans against his shoulder. "I know you would have rather come with someone else, but this means a lot to me."
He wants to snort and tell her it doesn't matter, but brushing off her words might insult her and make her feel sad again. Cedric doesn't like to see anyone sad, much less Eloise, with her sweetness and gentleness.
"I invited someone, actually. Before I asked you, of course. They said no."
"Oh?" Eloise asks and sits straighter, taking a sip of her spiced pumpkin juice. "Who would deny you? You are a Triwizard Champion and one of the best people I know!"
He laughs at her enthusiastic description and she blushes, looking down.
Cedric looks at Cho and Harry again. They seem to be enjoying their dance even though Harry still can't find the rhythm of the song. He actually looks adorable, blushing every time he bumps against other couples and then snickering complicity with Cho.
He finally answers Eloise.
"They denied me because they were already invited by another champion and a celebrity at that."
"Viktor Krum!" Eloise exclaims and Cedric almost laughs at the sudden conclusion. "Oh, you should have definitely come with Hermione Granger. She is always sweet to me, and very smart, like you."
Cedric does snort this time.
"I meant Harry Potter and Cho Chang," he says and looks at them again. Harry's tie is coming off and Cho's hairdo is falling apart as the Weird Sisters play more aggressively. Their smiles are alluring.
"Oh, but Harry is so lame... Why would Cho go with him?"
Cedric wants to disagree. Harry Potter is not lame in the slightest, and Cedric even thinks most people should look at the boy more closely before making assumptions about him.
Harry Potter is a kind, just wizard who has just gotten swept into a political mess no one wants to unravel, and while it's a disadvantage to Cedric in the Tournament, it also makes Harry even more interesting.
And Cho! Cedric sighs longingly. She is just as wonderful, and this time Cedric feels a little guilty for thinking about her like that, but with the movements she's showing off on the dance floor he can't keep his mind away from her waist and hips and the beaming face that shows how happy she is to be there with Harry Potter.
The worst is Cedric can't blame either of them for choosing each other as a date for the Yule Ball, because both Cho and Harry are the best kind of people. And very beautiful, too.
There is no shame in looking, Cedric tells himself and disentangles his arm from Eloise's, standing up with the excuse of bringing more spiced pumpkin juice for her and a tiny bit of the Sugar Vodka the Weasley Twins have successfully sneaked into the school.
He gets the drinks and then walks around the dance floor and just slides by Cho and Harry as they try a more advanced step that ends with Cedric bathed in the beverages.
"Merlin! I'm so sorry, Cedric," Harry hurries to say but Cedric purses his lips and shakes his head.
"Don't worry. I just need to grab my wand and it'll be in the past—" he says but Cho's quicker hand beats him to it.
"Scourgify," she almost sings.
"See? It was nothing at all," Cedric says and tries to go on, but Harry's hand closes around his elbow with the same agility it does against the golden snitch in the Quidditch pitch.
"Do you want to dance with us?" he asks nervously, looking at him and at Cho, trying to figure out if he has done something wrong. Cedric smiles. "I mean, if you don't mind, Cho..."
She grins and laughs and vanishes the empty glasses in Cedric's hand before putting her wand away and grabbing Cedric's hand. It's then that he notices Harry has let go of his elbow and is scratching the back of his head.
He shoots a look at Eloise across the dance floor and she gives him a thumbs up and the most encouraging grin Cedric has seen.
"It would be my pleasure," he says and the three of them shift awkwardly as a sudden silence overcomes them before a new song is played.
The new song is wilder, frantic. Cho is the one who starts dancing first, moving her body in perfect rhythm.
"Don't let me embarrass myself, boys. Dance!" she laughs and both Cedric and Harry laugh nervously before tentatively trying a few movements.
Seconds later, they find their own rhythm and the music invades Cedric's ears while his eyes take on the happiness in Harry's eyes, in Cho's smile, in his heart as it beats in synchrony with the music.
He is in awe of how easy they move, their steps accommodating for the other two and their eyes seeking each other now and then. All through the song, Cedric is ecstatic and joyful. He sways to the music as he enjoys the companionship with the wonder of one who has found a treasure, and he hopes Harry and Cho feel the same because he will be lost forever if they don't.
When the music stops and the Weird Sisters announce they're taking a break, the Hogwarts' Chorus steps in their place to sing for everyone.
Harry and Cho are holding hands and Cedric's own are tingling with jealousy and fascination. It's easy to take Harry's other hand when he offers it, and even easier to smile when Cho hesitantly leads them, to a dimly-lit staircase.
"I'm sorry for not accepting your invitation," Cho tells him when they're well away from the acapella music of the chorus. She looks at Harry and Cedric watches him nodding to something unspoken. "But you can be with us now. If you want to."
"It doesn't have to be just one dance," Harry says and Cedric feels stupid because they are younger than him and they're the ones trying to ease him into their fun. So he grins, and he can't stop himself from stepping closer to them.
Both are shorter than he is. Both are looking up to him and he recognises in their eyes the feeling of hope in his heart. It's so humbling and tender, and he thinks himself crazy for even considering refusing.
"Let's see what the night has for us," he says and Cho laughs a childish but endearing laugh. Harry shows a side grin that has his heart racing. And he goes with them back to the Great Hall, back to the ball.
He seeks Eloise to apologise and he notices that Harry and Cho are still with them, but Eloise is happy with some Durmstrang boy and she is waving Cedric off.
"Go with your little boyfriend and girlfriend," she tells him with a wink as she dances to the Durmstrang boy, and Cedric is left blushing with Cho and Harry at his sides.
He looks at them and they look like they do on a broom. Cho bites her lips and cocks her head and Harry passes a hand through his hair, disheveling it even further. Cedric decides to be the one who acts first this time and leads them to the dance floor.
And months later, when he dies in the middle of a heartbeat, he is sure they will be fine.