Several people have asked for a continuation for Of Yule Balls and Kisses, so here it is. This is not beta'd and I own nothing.
Chapter 1
Cedric could hardly believe his eyes. Peering through the heated mist he saw the small form of Hermione Granger slipping through the door of the Prefects bath bearing what could only be Harry Potter's golden egg. Closing the door, she pulled her wand from some unknown place – only Godric knew from where, considering she was wearing a Muggle T-shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts that barely covered her form from the waist down – turning she whispered quietly, then Cedric heard the lock click.
He took a moment to run his eyes up and down the body now slightly off to the side from where he was. Her bum was pleasantly rounded, riding high above legs that weren't long but were nicely formed. Slender thighs led down to toned calves and when she turned fully back toward him, he saw a pair of pretty feet. The cleanly trimmed nails of one was surprisingly coated with a metallic gold nail polish while the other well-formed foot's nails was a metallic red. Ever the Gryffindor, Cedric thought with amusement.
She was taking in the room with wide, near reverent eyes. Cedric chuckled. He imagined his own face had carried a similar expression when he'd entered the room for the first time. She must have heard him because her wildly curling-haired head swiveled in his direction. Cedric held absolutely still, inhaling slightly and holding the breath as if doing both of these things would somehow render him invisible. Granger leaned forward, eyes narrowed in concentration. Quietly and slowly, Cedric lowered himself further into the scented water, chin and mouth dipping below the surface.
She glanced around for a few more minutes, then seemingly satisfied, she strolled over to where several towels were lined up, grabbing two before heading near the edge of the pool-sized bath. Instead of picking that particular area to enter the pool, Granger stopped a moment, nibbled on that wonderfully full lower lip of hers before abandoning that space as a way into the bath. She walked quickly around to the side, periodically glancing down. Only when she was near where he was still floating, did he realize that she was searching for an area with a bench riding in the water.
The bath had built-in benches around three quarters of the edge, hence all that looking down into the water business. As fate would have it, the beginnings of the bench just happened to be where he was floating, trying to remain hidden. And, if he knew Granger, which he sorta did, she wasn't going to waste time and the moment she could ascertain there was a bench would be the moment that she would stop and drop into the bath.
She was much closer now, and the humidity in the room had turned her mass of hair into riotous, tight curls which hugged her head framing her pretty little features made a becoming shade of pink by the heat. Then, he noticed that the rest of her massive mane was pulled back into a tight plait. Cedric thought it a shame to confine such lovely, unrestrained gloriousness. Because the air was damp, her sleeveless T-shirt clung to her breasts and hips, and while Cedric had seem plenty of her enticing figure at the Yule Ball, he felt pang of guilt for perving on her here in the bath. This was a much more intimate space. A bathing area was an unspoken sacrosanct location and he should have announced his presence when she first came into the room. He really was a dunce!
Granger was dipping a toe in the water, when Cedric finally decided to let her in on the fact that she wasn't alone. He was all set to make a coughing noise, but the sound died in his throat when Granger plopped down into the water. The splash which ensued, drenched her top, making it translucent and Cedric really tried to avert his gaze. Really tried.
He was held spellbound as she climbed onto the bench making him even more aware of her delightful near-nakedness. He could plainly see her breasts through the clinging, inadequate cloth. He felt his body react to those lovely curves and only the thought of Professor Pomfrey in a nightgown kept him from an embarrassing state of arousal.
Cedric thought back to the night of the Yule Ball and how pretty she'd looked and how desperately he'd wanted to kiss her despite knowing she'd been Krum's date. How they'd walked back to her common room in unforced companionable silence when they weren't talking on subjects of interest. Surprisingly, they had similar tastes in books and he'd been fascinated by her stories on picture shows in the Muggle world. He hadn't even attempted broaching the subject of Quidditch already keenly aware she had no interest in that particular topic.
What had first drew him to Cho was her amazing abilities of being Seeker for her house. But, in all honesty, they'd had very little to discuss beyond the game they both loved. For awhile, he'd held on because he was also drawn to intelligent witches, and Cho was certainly that. Still, it didn't take him long to come to the realization that while she was intelligent and absorbed facts like a sponge, she had a spoon-fed sort of smarts. She didn't think beyond the application of those facts; she learned for learning sake and nothing more.
During that short walk back to Granger's common room, he'd been pleasantly surprised to discover that while she was also very intelligent, she tended to take her knowledge to the next level. She took the information fed to her and then came up with ideas on how to improve or add onto it. Her ideas were inventive and made him think; she challenged him and he found it both fun and illuminating as they playfully argued on certain applications of what they were being taught. She appealed to both his mind and his body in a way, for all her exotic beauty, Cho hadn't.
Granger was looking at the egg with a mixture of expectation and confusion her, brow scrunched up in concentration. He aught to make his presence known, it was long overdue. He gave a small splash which alerted her that she was not alone. Her head spun in his direction eyes widening in slightly panicked realization as her gaze fixed firmly on his own. Simultaneously he pulled himself onto the bench while she lowered herself further into the water in order to maintain some sort of modesty.
"What are you doing here," she demanded, face pink with embarrassment.
One brow rose high on his forehead at her slightly idiotic question, rightly assuming it had come out without thought due to the awkward situation. "Taking a bath," Cedric informed her casually as if it was a frequent event being disturbed by unexpected company.
Hermione's eyes traveled over his slick torso, eyes widening even further (surprisingly possible), when she finally cottoned on that he was nude beneath the ample bubbles. Her pretty, startled brown eyes, slammed tightly closed as she asked in exasperation, "Why didn't you shout out or something when I came into the room?"
Now it was Cedric's turn for his face to take on a crimson caste. Grabbing the Hungarian Horntail by the horns, he inquired, "Would you prefer an honest answer or a slightly honest answer?"
Her full lips pulled into a delectable moue making Cedric desperate to taste them. "An honest one, of course." Sounding a bit tart.
"Okay, but keep in mind, Granger that you asked for it," Cedric reminded her solemnly.
She gave a slight nod. "Well, at first your entrance took me by surprise. Then, I was taken off balance by how lovely you looked in just your sleep garments." That moue of hers fell open in surprise. Continuing on, he informed her honestly, "By the time it occurred to me to notify you of my presence, you dropped into the water and I was held spellbound by how the water made your top absolutely sheer and clung to your breasts leaving me temporarily speechless."
Granger's arms immediately crossed protectively over said breasts, letting out a huff of outrage. "A gentleman wouldn't have looked!"
Shrugging, even though she couldn't see it, he stated firmly, "First of all, you did ask for the truth and secondly, when have I ever professed to being a gentleman?"
Hermione crossly exclaimed. "You are a Prefect which is an honorable title with honorable and honest actions implied by that title!"
Cedric snorted. Hermione's frown deepened. "Listen Granger, before I was a Prefect I was a bloke. A bloke with hormones that can be set off by seeing an attractive female. So, while I do honor my Prefect duties, I am not going to apologize for a perfectly normal bodily response to your fine figure."
Cedric was amused when Granger reached out blindly with one arm, pulling a massive wave of bubbles toward her, effectively covering her from chest to chin. "Are you decent," she asked.
"I'm sitting on the bench, as you very well know, and while I am naked, also as you very well know, my manly bits are suitably covered by a vast array of strategically placed bubbles." Granger peeked at him out of one eye. Seeing he spoke the truth, she opened the other, glaring at him for all she was worth.
Before she could say anything more, Cedric informed her reasonably, "There's no need for you to be giving me the stink-eye, Granger. You interrupted my bath, not the other way around." She paled slightly when he added, "On top of that, you are out well after curfew and as an 'honorable' Prefect, I should be taking points along with informing your Head of House."
When she opened her mouth to reply, Cedric held his hand up silencing her and said, "I'm not going to because I can see you're here to give Potter a bit of help with his egg. Just don't open the blasted thing because I'm in no mood to be listening to that outrageous caterwauling."
"Yes," Hermione agreed. "That really was awful, wasn't it?" Cedric grimaced in agreement. "Sorry for rushing in here like I did. I should have made certain no one else would be around. Harry told me you gave him the hint of taking the egg to the bath and the password to this amazing room. Thank you for that. I felt I should get right to it since Harry's in detention all week and Merlin knows he's waited long enough to try and figure this thing out."
Cedric grinned. She really was a bossy little thing and her exasperation at her friend was quite adorable. Cedric admired her allegiance to Potter considering many refuted him at the onset of his name popping out of the Goblet. Even people in his own House. Even his best mate, Not Granger though. She'd stuck by him. Cedric had been ashamed of the way the members of his own House had treated the younger boy and had put a quick end to those horrible badges and nasty comments.
"I suppose," Granger began slowly. "I should maybe put the egg in the water." It was phrased as a question as was the look she shot at him through the fall of her thick, dark lashes.
Cedric reckoned that he'd helped Potter plenty, and if it had been him sitting here instead of Granger, he probably wouldn't have verified that statement. Since it was Granger, he gave a miniscule nod of his head which had her sending him a blinding grin that had Cedric's heart ticking up several beats. Merlin's beard; she was beautiful!
Making her even more attractive was the fact that she clearly was oblivious to her own innate charms. In all probability, Krum was making sure that Granger was tapping into that unexplored aspect of herself. Frowning, Cedric couldn't help but wish it was he instead of Krum bringing about this awareness.
Granger was getting ready to dive under the water, egg in hand, when she stopped in mid-taking-of-a-deep-breath and asked tremulously, "You won't look under the water after I've gone down, will you?"
His first instinct was to tease her, but the truly vulnerable look in her eyes made him gently say, "Of course not, Granger but if you don't want an accidental glimpse of my manly bits, you should probably turn around before diving under."
Bright streaks of mortification cut across the lovely bone structure of her face before she spun around and dove under the scented water. Her prettily rounded arse broke the surface giving him a split second to admire the pert contours before she kicked out and disappeared. She wasn't gone long, shooting up in a stream of water which glided down her upper body, his eyes avidly taking in the round fullness of her chest with their rose-pink nipples clearly visible. Cedric quickly averted his gaze. It felt wrong perving on her like this, but at the same time it felt right too. He really needed to get himself together!
Wiping the excess water off of her face, Granger gave him an intense stare before saying with confidence, "The Black Lake, then." He smiled. "I take it that Merpeople inhabit the lake." Cedric's smile grew. "Right. Well, clearly something will be taken and the champions will have to retrieve it within an hour time frame."
"Spot on, Granger." Cedric praised her deductions.
Hermione pulled herself up onto the bench saying thoughtfully, "Now what in the world could they take from you all of great value? And how in the world am I going to be able to help Harry prepare for this task? Obviously, we'll have to find a way for him to breath under water for an hour or more."
Biting her lip in a way that brought his focus to their plump, kissable shape distracted him from hearing what she said next. Only her strident calling of his name, brought him back to the conversation at hand. "Sorry there, Granger. What was that?"
"I said, I suppose it's absolutely out of the question for you to teach me the bubble-head charm."
She looked so delightfully earnest. He really shouldn't help Potter get a leg up, but apparently he held a hell of a soft spot for his best female friend. Apropos of nothing, Cedric asked, "How was that first kiss with Krum?"
"Excuse me," she countered with a baffled expression.
Determined, he continued, "I was wondering how that went off for you."
Granger stared steadily at the quickly diminishing bubbles in front of her then quietly asked, "Does me answering determine whether or not you teach me the bubble-head charm?"
Cedric felt an overwhelming rush of shame. It really was none of his concern and he definitely hadn't planned on blackmailing her into divulging the information. Thing was, he really did want to know. He momentarily wrestled with his genuine desire to find out versus taking the high road of minding his own business.
Sighing, he answered, "No, of course not. I was curious is all. I'd been wondering about it since the Yule Ball, but I shouldn't have asked regardless. It was rude of me, I'm sorry."
Still not meeting his eyes, Granger said with a small smile, "It was nice. I mean, I have nothing to compare it to, but I enjoyed it. A lot."
Cedric was honestly disappointed with her revelation. Well, he had asked, so he should have been prepared for her answer. He'd been hoping that it might have been clumsy and awkward. He should have known better. Krum, more than likely, had ample opportunity to perfect his snogging technique. One couldn't reach the age of eighteen and be a world renowned Seeker without having snogged quite a few girls.
"Would you like to," Cedric asked before giving it proper thought. That made Granger's head shoot up, mouth hanging open in surprise. Blushing underneath her intense stare, he added with a nonchalant shrug, "Have something to compare it to, I mean."
"I understood," she assured him, still appearing surprised. "I don't think this is a proper place considering your still naked and I still have my night clothes clinging to me like a second skin leaving nothing to the imagination."
"True," he answered with a slight tilt to his head. "Perhaps if we keep a mountain of bubbles between us we can keep from inadvertently touching bodies or seeing anything that you don't want seen."
He could tell that she was giving it some serious thought which was a pleasant, albeit, complete amazing result. He hadn't really expected her to entertain the notion whatsoever; she was such a demure and proper little thing.
"I suppose," she began sounding uncertain. "If we have ample bubbles, it would be all right."
"Come closer," Cedric invited with an encouraging smile. He was hard-pressed to keep a huge grin at bay, scarcely believing his own good fortune.
She made her way to where he sat. Holding his hand out, he helped her climb onto the bench, keeping a respectable distance; he didn't want to scare her off. Reaching behind, he gripped his wand, waving it over the water. Voluminous bubbles in various shades grew between them. She looked must more relaxed with the extra coverage although he detected a glint of trepidation in her caramel colored eyes.
"I'm going to lean forward," he informed clinically, realizing this would be the best approach since Granger enjoyed learning new things. "I might even place my hand on your face or neck for leverage. Will that be acceptable to you."
Granger nodded, her breathing noticeably quickened which Cedric took as a good sign. She didn't close her eyes as he expected when he moved closer although they dilated darkly. The first touch of his lips against hers was gentle, almost timid until he felt hers soften. He took that as a sign to press more firmly, but refrained from being intrusive. The object was to slowly beguile a response and if she gave silent consent, to then take it to the next level.
When is hand came up to lightly cup the side of her face, her eyes fell shut. He continued to move his mouth over hers in barely there caresses, his thumb grazing back and forth against the softness of her skin. After a bit, his thumb applied the slightest push and pull to her jawline, and as her mouth opened slightly, he turned his attentions to her upper lip; sucking it gently between his before doing the same to the plushness of her quivering lower lip. Her sudden reciprocation of his actions, thrilled him. Her mouth was clinging and releasing in tandem with his, dancing and discovering in the most delightful manner.
It took all he had in him to lean back slightly and whisper against her parted mouth, "Okay?"
"Yes," she whispered back, before palming his neck and pulling him back in, proceeding to mold their mouths together in delicious friction.
Tilting her head slightly, Cedric moved beyond their testing and teasing, sealing his mouth completely over hers, he deepened the kiss. Gods, her response was leaving him breathless. He became more urgent, his lips abandoning all pretense of tenderness to replace it with a burgeoning hunger. She was matching his intensity, moaning in a way that went straight to his groin. The need for air broke them apart, her forehead rested against his own; both breathing and panting heavily.
His lips brushed over the silkiness of her high cheekbone, ghosting down the side of her face, brushing briefly against the lobe of her ear to settle at the sensitive spot just behind; tongue flicking out to sample the sensitive skin.
"Oh," she gasped, grabbing at his shoulders, moving her head back to better allow him to continue, which he did with relish.
"You taste like cinnamon and vanilla," Cedric groaned, lightly biting at her fragrant flesh, sucking and pulling until she was writhing against him.
He had no clue as to when they breached their fragile wall of propriety, but he wasn't about to complain. Tight, turgid nipples were flattened against his chest, tiny points grazing enticingly making him shift and shake on the bench. When she fisted handfuls of his hair and yanked with just the right amount of force, he abandoned the space at her neck and latched revenously onto her mouth, tongue shooting out to brush hers with firm assurance.
The needy mewling noises she was making were driving him wild! Restless hands roved over the slim lines of her back as their tongues entwined in magical madness. If he had known how desperate his own moaning and groaning actually were, he would have been embarrassed. As it was, his sole focus was on this woman wantonly melting in his arms, as desperate for him as he was for her.
A girlish voice broke through their passion. "Ooooooo… isn't this interesting. This is much more entertaining than watching Cedric bathe alone!" Granger jumped back as if struck by lightening, her glorious features twisted in shock and dismay. "Don't stop now," Myrtle implored. "Things were moving along splendidly."
With a small, dismayed cry, Hermione climbed out of the pool. Cedric made a belated attempt to stop her, but she was far too fast and was already across the room, not caring that she was woefully near-naked. "Granger, wait. I'm sorry..."
His apology was cut short and went unacknowledged as she unlocked the door and shot through it as if the hounds of hell were gnawing at her heels, leaving him hard and aching which was the least of his worries. What had he done?
"Shite," he exclaimed, closing his eyes, disgusted with himself.
"Sorry," Myrtle chimed in sing-song fashion, clearly not sorry. When she got no reaction, she grew bored and decided to check the toilet pipes for anything of value.
Cedric sat in the bath until the water ran cool and all the soap suds disappeared, chiding himself and wondering how the hell he was going to fix this.
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