Chapter 2

Mrs. Weasley woke Hermione and Ginny up bright and early so that they would have time to shower before the boys took over the house. As soon as she turned around to go finish preparing breakfast, however, the girls got back in bed. It took Mrs. Weasley three tries before the girls finally went downstairs to join the boys. Everybody was tired and grumpy, and so they set out with little chit-chat.

Hermione had grown used to walking around Ottery St. Catchpole because of her frequent visits to the Diggorys', and so did not mind the swampy terrain. The silence around her, however, left her with too much time to think about Cedric and their relationship. She began to grow nervous, fully aware that she would be seeing him shortly. And so, with each step she took her feet seemed to grow heavier and her mood gloomier.

By the time they reached Stoatshead Hill, Hermione felt as if the weight of all her school books combined rested on her chest. She did not see the Diggorys atop the hill, and so relaxed, wondering if, maybe, Mr. Diggory had given in to Cedric's pleas to just take him via side-along Apparition. Cedric had not been much too excited about waking up at two in order to get the portkey. Mr. Diggory's voice, however, interrupted her thoughts and deflated her hopes. Sitting comfortably on some rocks, she saw Mr. Diggory and Cedric.

"Hello, Arthur," Mr. Diggory greeted, "and how very nice to see you again, Hermione. It's been too long," he joked, pulling her into a hug. The Weasleys and Harry stared at the pair in shock. They had been aware that Hermione had befriended Cedric, of course; it was difficult not to notice such things while at Hogwarts, where they spent their every day together. Yet the easy relationship she seemed to have with Cedric's father, who was quite renowned for caring for no one but his child, took them by surprise. Hermione remained oblivious to their shock, however, as she hugged Mr. Diggory back.

"It has, hasn't it? But it's not my fault you retreated into your study yesterday to do serious work, now is it? Ced and I would have been happy to have a third player for Monopoly," Hermione replied jovially. She liked Mr. Diggory and, if she was lucky, his presence would hold at bay any possible one-on-one time with Cedric, which would only lead to awkwardness at this point.

Her hopes were dashed, however, when he turned to discuss the Cup with Mr. Weasley and to inquire about the family. Cedric, who'd been staying at the sidelines, walked over to Hermione.

"I thought I told you not to call me Ced," he said lightly.

"You did," Hermione replied, unsure of his mood. Was he angry or merely jesting? "But your father calls you that and I was talking to him. When I'm talking with professors I call you Mr. Diggory and when I talk with you I call you Cedric. When I talk with your father, I shall call you what he does which, in this case, just so happens to be Ced." Her response was logical and well phrased, she thought, and was a safe bet if he was, indeed, angry. His amused smile, however, wiped any such thoughts from her mind.

"Alright, Hermione," he allowed, stressing her full name, "but we'll see who laughs last. Your name, I believe, has many more possible derivations. Each one more charming than the last. Don't you agree?"

Before Hermione had time to come up with a rebuke, Mr. Diggory called their attention to the time. Everybody huddled close and took hold of the old boot that was serving as their portkey for the day and, just as it began to activate, Cedric wrapped his arm tightly around Hermione's waist, holding her against him. Next thing she knew, she opened her eyes to find herself in a misty moor. The experience of traveling by portkey had been rather uncomfortable and she was not looking forward to repeating it, but she quickly realized she had come out of it better than most. Except for Mr. Diggory, Mr. Weasley, Cedric, and herself, everybody else was spread out on the ground. Understanding dawning upon her, the outrage she'd felt at Cedric's hold melted into gratefulness. She turned around, still in his hold, and smiled up at him.

"Thank you," she whispered, blushing lightly. Cedric blushed as well as their eyes met, a small smile blossoming on his face.

"You're welcome," he whispered back, wrapping his other arm around her now that he no longer needed it to hold the portkey. "Any nausea? Should I worry for my robes?" he asked lightly. But the tone was more amused than teasing and Hermione did not mind. Instead, she shoved his chest lightly before resting her head against it. The steady beating of his heart was relaxing. The brief moment of calm was interrupted by a loud announcement as to their arrival. Hermione and Cedric quickly pulled apart, ignoring Mr. Diggory's knowing glance.

They remained close, however, as Basil told Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory about their campsites and, once they began to walk towards the camping fields, they did so hand in hand, all previous awkwardness forgotten. Once it finally came time for the Diggorys and the Weasleys to separate, the pair tightened their hold on each other, unwilling to part ways. Once more, while the Weasley men remained oblivious, Mr. Diggory looked at them knowingly.

"Say, Arthur," he started, "you've only got two tents there, right? And you're seven, aren't you?"

"Ten, actually," Arthur responded somewhat sheepishly, "my three elders are Apparating later."

"Why don't you send Hermione with us? We have a bit of extra room."

Hermione and Cedric looked at each other with wide eyes. They had never expected such a situation, but neither was going to complain. Instead, they turned to look at Mr. Weasley as innocently as they could.

"He has a point, Mr. Weasley," Hermione argued, "that way you don't have to waste a whole tent on just Ginny and me. And I'm sure I can find my way to your tent before the game starts so that I can sit with you. From what Mr. Basil said, your tent is right next to the path, isn't it?"

Mr. Weasley looked dubious, but had to agree that it seemed much less complicated than their current bunking situation and so relented. With a huge smile, Hermione hugged Harry and the Weasleys goodbye and took Cedric's hand, following him towards their campsite. Once there, she helped Cedric set up the tent while Mr. Diggory watched on, looking disgruntled. He was not happy with the anti-magic regulations in place.

Once the tent was set up, Hermione entered it, expecting to find nothing but the tent's fabric and the ground. However, she did a double-take when she entered and found herself in what resembled a small house. She went back outside to look around the tent and then back inside.

"It's bigger on the inside," she stated, not quite sure she could process much more. Cedric rolled his eyes and dragged her further inside, showing her the different sections. There were two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Hermione was flabbergasted. "The inside's bigger than the outside," she insisted, much to Cedric's amusement.

Even after three full years in the wizarding world, there were some things Hermione could not accept. This break in the relative dimensions in space was a tad too much for her and, without another word, she turned around and left the tent, seeking refuge in the great outdoors. Even there, however, she found herself surrounded by witches and wizards of all sizes and colors. Hermione was overwhelmed. She took a deep breath and began to walk away from the tent, intent in finding someplace to think. Eventually, she made her way into the woods, where she sat down at the foot of a tree, put her head between her knees, and concentrated on nothing but breathing.

Cedric, who had followed Hermione when she left the tent, stood quietly in the shadows, watching her worriedly. Just then, she reminded him awfully of the small girl he had met at the Quidditch pitch nine months ago. He wished there were something he could do to help. Just then, however, the best he could do was watch over her, and so that was what he would do. And, indeed, he contented himself to stand guard over her for the next half hour while she attempted to process this new discovery about what was now her world. After the half hour, she looked up and met his eyes, as if she had known he had been there all along, and gave him a weak smile. Cedric took it as an invitation to join her.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. She shrugged against him as her fingers began to trace idle patterns on his chest. "Hermione, what's wrong?" he insisted.

"Nothing. I'm fine. I was just… caught off guard," she replied shortly. It was obvious she did not want to talk about it. Unfortunately for her, Cedric did not believe in brushing such things under the carpet.

"You're not fine; don't lie to me. You know I hate it. What caught you off guard?"

"Sometimes… sometimes I forget," Hermione began, and her voice sounded just as small as it had all those months ago, when her best friend had been lying on a hospital bed.

"Forget what?" Cedric asked, still not understanding. In response, Hermione tensed up in his arms and pulled closer to his chest, as if sheltering herself.

"I forget about magic," she replied, her voice shaking. "Sometimes it's more than others. When I'm with my parents, sometimes I wake up and think Hogwarts has all been a dream. Others, I just… I see something magic, and it doesn't seem real. I can accept some things; levitation, Apparition, putting back together things that are broken… but when I see magic create space where there isn't any… that goes against everything I learned." Her voice softened, as if she were confessing a sin at Mass. "Sometimes, magic makes me hurt. Because I know it shouldn't be real, but it is. And then I just need to get away."

Cedric tightened his hold on Hermione and held her against his chest. The muggle world didn't seem real to him half the time, and he had always known that it existed; he could not begin to imagine what it must be like for Hermione, having grown up as a muggle, ignorant to the existence of magic, to suddenly be thrust into the wizarding world. And she was alone; her parents could not come with her in this journey.

When he was with her, it was so easy to forget that this was not her world. She was so bright and so knowledgeable, and she fit in so well, that he simply did not give a single thought to her childhood. But it was true; she had grown up being told that things were as she could see them and nothing more. That science explained everything. And that magic did not exist. What must it be like, he wondered, to have everything you've ever learned be proved wrong? Particularly for someone like Hermione, who always aimed to learn how things worked and why they worked as such.

Or, he realized as he looked down at the frightened girl in his arms, maybe she was like that because she was aiming to rationalize this world. Maybe, he thought, she had been a vapid little girl before she'd turned eleven; uninterested in how things worked because she didn't have to prove her knowledge or her right to be there. In the muggle world, she fit effortlessly. It was only in the wizarding world—his world—that she struggled to belong. And she did so well nobody noticed when she slipped. If she were like other muggle-borns, constantly asking questions and questioning everything, people would just explain. Some would laugh, but in the end people would tell her. But Hermione had tried to fit in by herself, with no help, and so nobody noticed when she could not understand. Nobody was there to help her. She had to pull herself together alone and dare to go back into the world and face what she had learned could not be and accept it as real. Cedric could not begin to comprehend such courage, and therein laid the answer to his questions as to her belonging in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw.

Well, no more, he told himself. From then on, he promised silently, he would be there to guide her and help her. She had to know he would never laugh; she could ask and he would answer and he would respect her, because now he knew she was fifty times as brave as he would ever be. And so he held her while she pulled herself together once more and, when she began to sit up and pull away from him, he pulled her back and softly kissed her on the lips.