A/N: New chapter up a bit early, I have a lot to do on both Thursday and Friday. This chapter is sort of the turning point of Ava's and Cedric's relationship. I don't have much else to say, other than please review, and I hope you like this :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, only my original characters.


Falling at my own pace

Chapter 4

He looked up when he heard the sound of my voice. "Ava, hey,"

I approached him carefully, "What are you doing here?"

"Prefect duties,"

"Oh," I looked down at my shoes, trying to shake off the awkward feeling I got.

"You should get back to the common room, curfew starts soon,"

Did he not want to talk to me? Had I hurt him that much with the avoiding thing? "Okay, I will," I went to the stairs and paused on the first step, turning around. "I'll see you tomorrow,"

"Goodnight," he said, with a small smile, before disappearing up the marble stairs. I stood still for a few seconds, watching him as he went.

--

The room was all white, down to the sheets on the bed that was standing in the middle of the room. I looked around, searching for something; but what, I didn't know. Two hands gripped my hips from behind, and a soft pair of lips kissed my neck. It was him, the one I had been looking for. My head fell back against his shoulder, and my hands covered his as they moved to my stomach. He continued to leave kisses up and down my neck, and I gripped his hands tighter when he found a sensitive spot. Needing to kiss him too, I spun around in his arms, and pressed my lips against his. He took my bottom lip between his lips and sucked on it, causing a moan to rip through my body. My hands found his hair and I gripped it tightly, holding him to me. My lips travelled down to his neck, kissing and nipping. He groaned, tightening his grip on my hips. I stepped back, hands raking down his chest, and looked up into a pair of grey eyes.

I bolted up in bed, my eyes wide in shock. It seemed like I couldn't even get my mind off Cedric in my sleep. I looked around and noticed that the others were still sleeping, so if must be early. I looked at my alarm clock, and sure enough; it was only 6.30. I got up and hopped in the shower, washing away the remains of my dream.

I was one of the first one in the Great Hall, only a few students were scattered amongst the four tables. I ate in silence, still thinking about my dream and the meaning of it. Was it true? Did I want him? Was that was the dream was trying to tell me? That I wanted him more than as a friend. Sighing, I tried to put my mind elsewhere, and I fished out my timetable from my bag and looked at it. Great, just my luck. I had two classes with Cedric today, both of them double. That meant that I was going to spend 4 hours in the same classroom as him. I was doomed.

I looked up when Tara sat down next to me, yawning and pushing her hair out of her face.

"Tired?" I asked, and she nodded, grabbing a croissant and putting jam on it.

"Mmh. I was up until midnight, finishing all my homework," she looked at me. "You look tired too. Did you get enough sleep?"

I nodded. "Yeah I did. Just some weird dreams, that's all,"

"Hopefully everything will work out," she had a knowing smile on her face, and I wondered what she knew that I didn't.

"Yeah, right," I continued to eat my breakfast, eating so much that I felt sick. "You done?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm done," we stood up and walked to the entrance hall, where we met up with Jennifer. Tara and Jennifer started talking about Divination as we walked up to the third floor, while I walked in silence. I didn't feel like talking. When we came to the classroom, the guys were already there, and I avoided looking at Cedric. I was lucky when the bell rung and the class started. The Slytherin's came as Flitwick opened the door, and I could therefore put some distance between me and Cedric.

I walked to my usual seat in the front, and sat down. I waited for Tara and Jennifer to sit down next to me, but instead a male voice was heard.

"Is this seat taken?"

I tensed. I knew that voice. I looked up, and saw that Cedric was standing next to me, looking hesitantly at me. "Uh, Tara and Jennifer sits here," I responded, it was the only thing I could think of saying.

"They're sitting in the back,"

I turned my head, and sure enough; Tara and Jennifer were sitting at a table in the back. If looks could kill, Tara would be a pile of ashes right now. But she only smiled sheepishly at me and mouthed 'sorry'. I sighed and turned back to Cedric.

"It's a free country," I snapped and then looked down at my books, ignoring him as he sat down next to me. Off course with my luck, we were doing an Aguamenti charm, and we were doing it in pairs. When the class was over, I nearly sprinted out of the classroom, and walked as fast as I could down to the first floor, where I had Defense Against the Dark Arts. I collapsed against the wall, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. I felt week to my knees, and took some deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Hey Roxley," came two voices on my right, and I opened my eyes. Fred and George were standing here, both of them smiling at me. Right, I'd forgotten that I had this class with the Gryffindor's.

"Hey," I smiled, and in that moment the bell rung. "Shall we?"

--

At lunch, I was a nervous wreck. My upcoming double class with Cedric did nothing to calm my nerves. Tara tried to distract me by telling bad jokes, but gave up when I only stared at the plate in front of me.

"Ava, you have to eat something," she was worried, I know.

I took a bite out of my lamb cutlet. "Happy?" I asked, an eyebrow raised, and she laughed.

"That's nice Ava, really nice,"

I swallowed the abnormally large piece of meat, wincing as it slid down my throat. The coolness of my pumpkin juice was welcoming as I gulped it down, and I looked up when Tara knocked me on the shoulder.

"What?" I asked, bewildered. She motioned behind me, and when I looked, I nearly fainted. Cedric stood there, looking extremely nervous. He drove his hand through his golden brown hair, and I found myself wishing to be that hand. How very Shakespeare of me.

"I was wondering if I could walk you to class,"

I hesitated, but Tara answered for me. "Sure you can," she pushed me up from my seat and handed me my book bag. I took it from her and gave her a murderous glance when Cedric wasn't looking. The stupid girl only replied it with a smile. And as if it wasn't awkward enough, when we passed the Ravenclaw table, Cho gave Cedric a smile and a very enthusiastic smile. He bluntly ignored her, and I thought I saw her casting an evil glare in my direction.

Our history of magic class was...interesting. Professor Binns talked the entire class, and if I wasn't sitting next to Cedric I would have fallen asleep. Instead I sat with my right hand clenched under the desk while I took notes. I longer to reach out and touch him, but instead dug my nails into my thigh. You could practically reach out and touch the tension between us, and it was driving me mad.

When the class was over, I gathered my books and stood up. I could feel this eyes on me, and I knew that the moment I stepped out of the classroom, he'd talk to me. So I decided to play it more on my terms. Instead of going right, down the marble stairs towards the common room, I walked up a floor. I walked down the abandoned hallway, knowing perfectly well that he was right behind me. Feeling that I had to get this over with, I stopped. Turning around, my eyes found him at once. He was standing about two yards away, looking at me.

"Have I done something to upset you? You've been avoiding me since Wednesday,"

"How could you upset me, we barely know each other,"

"I'd like to get to know you,"

"What do you want from me?" I bit back, sounding harsher than I meant to.

"I want to be your friend," he took a few steps forwards, and then stopped.

"Just my friend?" I asked, remembering the almost-kiss last Wednesday. I took a careful step forwards, and I could read the confused emotion in his eyes.

"If that's what you want me to be,"

I hesitated. "What do you want?"

"I like you, more as a friend," he spoke the words slowly, as if he had to choose them carefully before speaking.

"I'm not going to be a part of your little fan club if you think that," it hurt me to say these things, but I had to know. I couldn't afford to get my heart broken, it would ruin everything.

"I don't want you to. I don't even like them," he took another step forwards.

"Then what do you want?" I felt my body move towards him, as if I on some subconscious were drawn to him. We were so close now that I could reach out and touch him if I wanted. And boy, did I want to.

"I want you,"

I had suspected it, but to hear it being said out loud was a completely different thing. I reached out to grab his hand, but changed my mind halfway there. His hand came up to meet mine, and as his palm met mine I felt my heart rate quicken and my breathing speed up. I laced my fingers together with his as I stepped in closer. I felt a desperate need to be close to him.

"So, where do we go from here?" he sounded insecure, like a little lost boy.

"I think we should just, do what feels natural,"

His smile was back, his beautiful crooked smile. "I think that sounds great. Do you want to go somewhere to talk?"

I grinned. "I know the perfect place.

--

We ended up in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, laying on our backs looking up in the sky. We were laying close to each other, our hands almost touching. We talked about everything under the sun. School, our likes and dislikes. For once, the conversation flowed between us, with only comfortable silences. But when I asked him about his family, he tensed up. I waited patiently for him to begin.

"My mum works as a healer at St. Mungos, and my father works for the Ministry, at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He's very proud of me, with my studies and Quidditch," he paused, running a hand through his hair. "He just puts a lot of pressure on me. It was his idea that I should enter the Triwizard Tournement,"

"Ced, you should enter because you want to, not because your father wants you to. He's got every right to be proud of you anyway,"

He gave a half smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and changed the subject. "What about your family?"

"My mom and dad met when dad was in New York, and they got married there. I have an older brother, Nick, who is 20. We moved to London when I was 8, and the rest you know," I paused, deciding how much to tell him. "My mother is a muggle, and my dad has sort of lain off magic. He works as a teacher at a muggle school, and he only uses magic to do house chores, which drived my mom crazy," I chuckled. "I guess he's kind of lazy in that way,"

"It must have been fascinating; growing up with the muggle world so close,"

I laughed. "I guess so. Though I'm so used to it, I barely think about it anymore," then I yawned.

"Am I boring you?" he teased, and I shook my head.

"No, I'm just tired," the reason for my tiredness came back to me, and I blushed. I lay my head gently on his shoulder, and felt myself fall asleep.

When I woke up, it was beginning to darken, and I looked up at Cedric. His eyes were closed, and it appeared he was sleeping. I began tracing his face very lightly with my fingertips. Over his forehead, down over his cheekbones, along his jaw, and finally, across his lips. I could feel the gush of air that came out of his nose with every breath he took, his lips twitching slightly. He was waking up, and I withdrew my hand quickly.

"Hey sleepyhead," I teased when he opened his eyes.

He gave a lazy smile. "Hey yourself. What time is it?"

I looked at my watch. "It's dinner time, so we should probably go," I stood up and straightened out my skirt before offering my hand to him. He grabbed it and hoisted himself up. I had balance on my heels when I pulled him up, and that resulted in me nearly being crashed into his chest as he stood up fully. He let go of my hand, and I immediately missed that feeling it gave me, and we started to walk up to the castle.


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