Summery: Oliver Wood never thought that there could be more to life than Quidditch. Cedric Diggory was the one to prove him wrong. In here Oliver is a seventh year and Cedric in sixth.

A/N: This fic is actually my first real attempt at Fanfiction. It was written for my friend Sweaty paws who complained she couldn't find a decent Cedric Diggory slash, and me, being a good friend with way too much free time on my hands, decided to surprise her.

It was meant to be some sort of an on-going story, beginning in the middle of Harry's third year all the way up to the inevitable end (Yes, I mean Cedric's death), but somewhere between chapters two and three I ran out of ideas… So this would be a little two chapters fic without much of a point to it… Pure fluff if you will.

Thanks: I would also like to thank Beankin' for beta me, ever so loyally.

Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue.

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Better Than Quidditch– Chapter 1

Harry was soaring high above the game in hot pursuit of the snitch, Cedric close at his wake. Oliver watched them intently from his post in front of the goal hoops.

He was watching Cedric's back and was wondering what had changed this year. He always respected Cedric as a Quidditch player (which was probably the highest praise Oliver could give anyone) but not much more, until now. He could still remember when Cedric had first joined the Hufflepuff team, three years ago, he was short and scrawny then- as most seekers were and he was a very fast and agile flyer. But Cedric came back to Hogwarts after the last summer and he was no longer short and scrawny, for his sixth year he had grown considerably, he was almost as tall as Oliver, and his frame filled up nicely with those long muscles and this proud air of a new prefect. Oliver liked that, and that confused him.

A sharp whistle blew in his ear and he almost fell off his broom. He turned startled and saw the angry face of Madame Hooch, behind her he could see the other players all stifling a smile and he looked down and saw he was clutching the quaffle tight. He was so busy watching Cedric he completely forgot he still had it.

He passed her the quaffle with a sheepish smile and felt his face turning crimson like his robes as she gave him a reproachful look and flew to the other side of the pitch to hand the quaffle to the Hufflepuff keeper and resume the game. His team mates all wore broad grins, the Hufflepuffs looked slightly mad.

The game resumed and Oliver was determent to give it his full attention, and thus diverted his excess energy and tension into a series of brilliant saves. For about the first time in his life he wished the game would be over, but it just wore on and on.

Oliver closed his eyes; he was so tiered, all of a sudden. When he opened them again he saw all the field players in front of him, crimson red and canary yellow when an orange blur came crushing through. Cedric and Harry were racing almost vertically to the ground. They were about thirty feet up in the air and still accelerating, twenty feet up- this was getting dangerous! At ten feet Cedric pulled up but Harry didn't. The game stopped as all the eyes in the stadium, players and audience alike, were on Harry.

At the last second Harry managed to pull up and went flying off his broom. The audience held a collective breath as he got gingerly to his feet and stood looking dazed and confused for a second, and then without warning Harry started to jerk around violently showering snow all around him. The crowd watched stunned when at last he reached a hand down the collar of his robes and pulled out a wriggling and slightly crumpled- the Snitch.

Harry looked at the little golden winged ball for a few seconds as if he wasn't sure what it was and then held it up high and smiled broadly.

The stands exploded with roars and cheers and the Gryffindor players raced to the ground to hug Harry.

"That was brilliant!" yelled Fred with a huge smile on his face.

"Yeah, we haven't seen such performance from you since you tried to swallow the bloody thing on your first game." said George and Harry smiled, slightly embarrassed. Angelina Johnson came up from behind Harry and hugged him, he let out a pained groan and she jumped back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Harry, did I hurt you?" Harry managed another smile and said,

"No, it's just that sodding Snitch. It was like having Crookshanks down my robes." everyone laughed and the team started to make its way to the changing rooms, forming a circle around Harry to protect him from the crowd of excited Gryffindors.

Oliver hung back to shake Madame Hooch's hand as was his Captain duty, at the same time Cedric came over to do the same as the Hufflepuff Captain. Madame Hooch commended them both on a well-played game and stalked off and Oliver found himself face to face with Cedric. He couldn't think of a single thing to say, what with the excitement of the victory and Cedric's eyes on him. Eventually Cedric spoke up,

"That was a really good game, Wood, congratulations on the win." his tone was devoid of malice or sarcasm and he actually smiled. Oliver greeted him with a dazzling smile and they both made their way to the changing rooms.

By the time he entered the changing rooms everybody was already on the way out still wet and steaming heading for the Gryffindor tower for the victory celebration.

"Hurry up, Oliver, we want to get the party going." called Fred at him.

"You start without me, I'll be there soon." Oliver smiled at his team, he was so proud of them all.

Once alone under the hot shower he began to ponder over what Cedric had said, or rather, of the way he said it. This was all too bizarre, not only that Cedric didn't seem to want to drown himself in the shower (which was what Oliver would probably have done had he just lost a game) he actually smiled and congratulated him, what the hell was wrong with him? Somewhere in the back of his head he knew that if the tables had been turned he would never smile at Cedric. This thought bothered him, was Cedric so in the habit of losing he didn't care anymore, or was he actually being the big man here? Both way that made out Oliver to look like a total git, and he simply couldn't let Cedric going around thinking he was a total git! He had to talk to him and set things straight!

Oliver quickly changed and went out to catch Cedric at the Hufflepuff changing rooms. It was really cold outside, not to mention the fact that the ground was covered in ankle deep snow. Very non-typical end of November weather, he thought, even for Scotland.

A couple of the Hufflepuff players came out of the changing rooms chatting happily and passed by Oliver heading for the castle, what's wrong with these people? Someone should teach them the proper way to act after losing! He waited, shifting his feet in the snow and feeling very uncomfortable when he thought of breakfast the next day when all the Gryffindors would come down gloating.

Cedric came out of the changing rooms, busy with his cloak when Oliver stepped in front of him blocking his path.

"Hi, Wood, what's up?" he asked brightly, Oliver couldn't help himself and hurled the question at Cedric before he could stop to think,

"How are you doing this? Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Cedric asked cautiously as if fearing that Oliver might explode, he sure looked mad enough…

"How can you be so bloody calm and smiling? You just lost!!"

Cedric smiled pleasantly, "It's just a game," he said. Just a game?!? Just a game?!?! Now Oliver knew that Cedric was mad. Ever since he could remember there was one thing Oliver really wanted to do with his life- to play Quidditch. For him it wasn't a game- it was his life. Cedric must have realized who he was talking to and laughed, jerking Oliver out of his thoughts "I know how you feel about Quidditch, but for me it's just fun. And workout," he added after a thought, "We spend way too much time buried in books." Oliver never considered things this way.

They were walking slowly across the Quidditch pitch; Oliver was still deep in thought and wasn't paying much attention to Cedric until a ball of snow hit him on the side of the face.

Oliver turned around and saw Cedric grinning broadly, another snowball already in his hand. He ducked the second one and threw one of his own. The two of them started running across the pitch hurling snowballs at each other and laughing. Their path led them to the outskirts of the pitch and finally Oliver cornered Cedric against one of the high stands. They were both breathing hard, their breath creating big white clouds in the cold air. This had been the first time Oliver was standing this close to Cedric and the first thought that went through his mind was how good looking Cedric was. No wonder all the girls were so obsessed with him…

Without thinking about what he was doing Oliver reached a hand to brush the hair out of Cedric's eyes. He touched Cedric forehead and felt the warm skin under his frozen hand, Cedric winced when he felt Oliver's cold fingers but didn't move. He had a strange look in his eyes and all of a sudden Oliver was all too aware of how close he was to Cedric. He hastily withdrew his hand and stepped backwards, his eyes wide and his breathing uneven.

"I need to… I have…" he began, cursing himself and making desperate gestures with his hands "I have to go!" he managed at last and staggered past Cedric rushing towards the castle.

When he reached the great oak front doors he leaned his forehead against the cold wood thinking frantically. This cannot be happening! It would never have crossed his mind, not in a million years, that what he really wanted from Cedric was… NO! It can't be, he thought, I can't be… this whole thing was stupid, Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! His head slammed against the door repeatedly when he heard an anxious voice behind him,

"Oliver, stop! What's the matter with you?"

Oliver spun around to face Cedric, his hand was desperately searching for the doorknob, but the great doors held true to their name and the doorknob was far from his reach. Cedric made his way up the stairs and stopped directly in front of Oliver. Oliver froze; he saw Cedric's eyes linger with concern on his forehead where he already began to feel a throbbing pain.

Oliver Wood was never one for impulsive actions but before Cedric could say or do anything he launched forward and grabbed him by the shoulders, closing the space between them and kissed him. He felt Cedric's eyelashes brush his cheeks as his eyes snapped open with surprise and Oliver hastily withdrew realizing what he had just done.

He stared widely at Cedric and then turned sharply to run and hit the door with full force. All Oliver could see for a couple of seconds were lights popping in front of his eyes in what seemed like a very black background. He staggered backwards and crushed down to the ground in one smooth motion. Cedric was already confused with Oliver peculiar behaviour and now it looked like on top of everything he managed to cause himself serious damage, maybe even a concussion. Cedric sighed and bent down to inspect Oliver. At first Oliver couldn't even see him but slowly his eyes regained their focus and he could see that Cedric was looking very concern indeed. Oliver closed his eyes and wished he were anywhere but here and now.

Cedric helped him back to his feet. He opened the door while firmly holding Oliver's elbow so he won't fall again. Oh, sure, let him enter, why don't you! Oliver thought resentfully at the door. Only when they entered the entrance hall did Oliver realize how cold it was outside, he was shaking and his head threatened to explode.

"We best take you back to your common room and put you in bed," Cedric said briskly and then thought over his last words "I mean, you should go- go get some rest…" he finished lamely and hoped Oliver didn't catch any of his stuttering. As it turned out Oliver didn't even hear the last part of his sentence. His hazed brain got stuck on the words "common room", and all he could coherently think about was not going there.

"I don't want to go to the common room," he said weakly, "I need some quiet." He looked really tiered and could hardly support his own weight.

Oliver was dimly aware that Cedric was leading him somewhere, but he didn't really care where. His head was still pounding dangerously, he didn't want to see anyone at the moment, especially his housemates, in the mess he was. But he did want to stay with Cedric and he was very grateful he didn't actually take him back to his dorms. They reached an empty corridor and Cedric stopped in front of a bare wall. He turned to face Oliver,

"Close your eyes and picture to yourself what you would want most right now," for a second Oliver thought that Cedric might have hit his head somehow as well but his eyes were keen and he looked like he knew what he was doing. Oliver shrugged and leaned on the opposite wall, and Barnabs the Barmy and the trolls in tootoos turned to watch him curiously from their tapestry. He closed his eyes and tried to think of what he wanted, it had everything to do with Cedric and a bed, but he tried as hard as he could to avoid thinking of strawberries and cream, which from some reason kept creeping to his head.

He heard a soft satisfied sound from Cedric and opened his eyes hurriedly to see if Cedric caught any of his thoughts. To his utter amazement he wasn't facing the blank wall anymore he was facing a door. Damn! Even after seven years the bloody castle could still surprise him.

Cedric went over to the door and opened it; peering around it he tossed behind his shoulder,

"Nice work Oliver, very nice." and walked in. Oliver followed him slowly, and gingerly peered around the door, not sure what to expect, when he entered the room he saw that Cedric was right, it was nice. A Hogwarts four poster bed was against one of the walls, the drapes deep crimson red, there was a fireplace with a couple of pouffes next to it and the walls were covered with pictures of international Quidditch players and teams all zooming around happily in their frames. Oliver was stunned,

"It looks like my dorm room and my room back home had a child…" he said with an odd expression. Cedric laughed and poised himself comfortably in one of the pouffes in front of the fire. Oliver came over to join him still looking questioningly around him.

"What is this place anyway?" he asked as he dropped down on the pouffe and shifted to make himself more comfortable.

"It's the Room of Requirement," answered Cedric with a nonchalant tone, he turned and caught Oliver's puzzled look, "It's a room that will adjust itself for whatever you need." he explained.

Oliver thought about it for a minute "How come you know about this place? It's obviously not common knowledge around school that this room exists…" he was surprised to see Cedric's face turning red,

"Well, it's not and I didn't actually plan to find this place out," he said in a small voice, "But it's very useful, I come here when I want to be alone. This castle isn't designed for solitude," he observed.

That was true enough, thought Oliver, the place was swarming with people every hour of the day.

He sank deeper in the pouffe and covered his eyes with his hands. His head was beginning to pound again and he tried to calm the slight nausea that began inside him. After a while he felt better, and his thoughts went back to be coherent. Memories flooded back to his brain and he vividly remembered kissing Cedric in front of the doors. He didn't dare to look at Cedric but he had to ask,

"Did we… did I just… back there did I just… kiss you?" he felt like every word was trying its best the squirm back down his throat so as to not leave his lips. There was a long pause and then Cedric said in a quite voice,

"Yes." and Oliver felt his face flush and burn under his fingers.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me…" he mumbled. There was another pause and then Cedric's voice came so quiet that Oliver wasn't sure he caught it,

"'S ok, I don't mind." Oliver peered in amazement between his fingers. Cedric wasn't looking at him; he was gazing stubbornly at the fire. Oliver reached his hand and touched Cedric's arm, Cedric's head snapped in his direction but he didn't move his arm. Oliver smiled at him and leaned a little further.

Before either of them knew how Cedric was on top of Oliver, his knees digging in the pouffe for support. He grabbed Oliver's face with both his hands and kissed him. This time it was Oliver's turn to be surprised but that past away very quickly and he melted into the kiss, giving in to the feel of Cedric's soft lips. Cedric's tongue was parting Oliver's lips and made its way into his mouth gently but firmly, his hand caressing the outline of Oliver's ear sending shivers down his spine.

The thing about pouffes is that their biggest virtue is also their biggest downfall, and the movement of the two boys on the big cushion caused them both to roll onto the floor. Oliver was caught under Cedric's body, his head banged hard against the stone floor, the pounding in his head resumed but he wasn't at all sure it had anything to do with the floor; it was more likely that it had to do with Cedric's body. He didn't care to bang his head on hard surfaces as long as he had Cedric's lips again. Unfortunately Cedric seemed to think that Oliver had received enough blows to the head to last him for a while. He hurriedly got off Oliver,

"Shit, Wood, I'm so sorry, are you ok?" Oliver looked up; Cedric's face was bent down towards him, framed by his dark hair. His grey eyes were dark with concern, although Oliver thought he could still see lust there, but that could have been just him. He smiled at Cedric, hoping to project that he was fine and wanted to continue where they stopped. Cedric on the other hand, took his smile as a sign he was right and Oliver was hurt. He scrambled to his feet and pulled Oliver bodily up. All the blood that was already making its way down suddenly flooded back up and Oliver staggered and moaned with pain. Cedric laid him on the bed and Oliver closed his eyes, his blood pounding in his ears and his insides squirming.

Cedric looked at Oliver and wondered weather he should take him to the hospital wing, but he really didn't feel like explaining Madame Pomfrey how Oliver managed to bang his head, twice.

After a couple of minutes he realized that Oliver fell asleep, his breathing deep and even. Cedric smiled down at him and softly brushed a stray lock of hair from Oliver's forehead, Oliver didn't stir and Cedric decided to give him a few hours of sleep before taking him back to the Gryffindor tower.

Cedric sighed, closed his eyes and forced himself to think about the book he was currently reading. Then he opened his eyes and smiled. He got up from the bed and went over to the fireplace, settled himself comfortably on the pouffe and started to read.


Author's note: If you read PoA then you might remember the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor match to end in a very different way. The thing is, it didn't really suit my story so I changed it a bit... hope you don't mind.

Pouffes equal beanbags… That's how we call them and I never really liked the name beanbag.