Title: A Lack of Color, Chapter 14
Author: kevo
Pairing: Cedric + Harry. Their love is so green.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to these characters or the series they're from.
Summary: An alternate version of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts. (Goblet of Fire canon re-write)
The Love So Green Collection
Playlist #1:
a lack of color
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"One More Sleep 'Til Christmas"
"No, Harry!" Cedric cried. "You're supposed to be leading!"
"Dammit!"
Harry pulled angrily away from his boyfriend and newly appointed dance instructor. He stomped over to the couch that the Room of Requirement had provided and dropped down on it in frustration. This was Harry's third dance lesson in as many nights. He had gotten much better at moving with the beat and stepping at the right time, but he kept inadvertently allowing Cedric to take the lead when they practiced dancing as a pair.
"I'm never going to get this!" Harry sulked.
"Of course you are," Cedric said as he sat beside the sullen boy. "You've gotten really good in a short amount of time. The only thing you're having trouble with is leading, and we still have a few days to work on that."
"I can't help it," Harry said in his defense. "You're all bigger than me and everything, it just feels natural to let you take the lead."
"I'm going to take that 'bigger than you' remark as a compliment," Cedric quipped.
"You know what I mean," Harry said.
"I do," Cedric replied. He thought for a moment, and then said, "That's the problem with two boys dancing. It's harder to tell which one should be leading. Not like with a guy and a girl."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Unfortunately, that's all we have: two boys."
"Maybe," Cedric said slowly. "Or maybe not."
Harry looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we know girls," Cedric explained. "There's no reason we couldn't ask one of them to help us out here."
"I don't know," Harry said uncertainly. "Hermione's not the ideal person to ask for help with this kind of thing. She'd probably use technical jargon and a really thick book. That's great for homework, but for dancing? That pretty much sucks the fun right out of it."
"What about Cho?"
Those three small words were all it took to make Harry freeze. Cedric had been not-so-subtly been hinting that he wanted Harry to meet his best friend ever since Cedric had met Harry's. Of course, Harry spending time with Cho was very different from Cedric meeting Ron and Hermione. Not only was she Harry's last crush before Cedric, but she was also the only girl Cedric had ever attempted to have sex with. Cedric had a much cleaner slate when he was meeting Harry's friends.
And now Cedric wanted Harry to learn how to dance from her? Cedric barely spent ten minutes with Ron and Hermione. That wasn't…
Wasn't what? Fair? Harry thought to himself. You're really going to be that childish about this?
He was being a little childish. If he wanted to continue seeing Cedric, Harry was going to have to meet with Cho eventually. That meant putting the past aside and recognizing that, no matter what might have happened before, he was with Cedric now and that was all that mattered.
"Harry?" Cedric asked. "You still there?"
"Yeah," Harry said finally. "I was just thinking."
"If you're not comfortable with—" Cedric began.
"No, it's fine," Harry interrupted. "Do you really think she would do it?"
"Are you kidding?" Cedric chuckled. "Cho lives for this kind of thing. She's a total fag hag."
Harry frowned.
"What's that?" he asked. Cedric stared at Harry like he couldn't decide whether he thought the other boy was joking or not. Then he laughed. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, nothing," Cedric said. He reached out and gently brushed some hair across his boyfriend's forehead. "I sometimes forget how young you are."
"Is that a bad thing?" Harry wondered nervously.
"No," Cedric answered. "Not at all. In a lot of ways, you're actually more mature than most of the guys in my year. It makes it easy to forget that there are still lots things you don't know yet." He pulled the younger boy close and continued, "But that's why you've got me."
"So now you're my mentor as well as my boyfriend?" Harry said, settling into the Hufflepuff's embrace. "Wonderful."
"Hey, do you realize what this Thursday is?" Cedric said suddenly.
"Of course," Harry responded. "It's Christmas Eve."
"And…?" Cedric said.
"And the last day I have to learn how to dance properly," the younger boy complained.
"Aaand…?"
"Aaand, I don't know!" Harry said. "The twenty-fourth?"
"And what happened last month on the twenty-fourth?" Cedric asked with barely contained eagerness.
"Uh, you got your ass kicked by a dragon?"
"I did not get my ass kicked by a dragon, I only got a little burned," Cedric responded tersely. "And that's not what I meant. What happened that night?"
Now Harry started to understand.
"We had our first date," he said, a smile slowly creeping across his face.
"Exactly," Cedric confirmed. "Making this Thursday our one month anniversary."
"Oh," Harry said impassively.
The panic Harry had been feeling over what to do for Cedric for Christmas just doubled. He really had no idea what to do for an anniversary.
"We don't have to do anything about it," Cedric said quickly, picking up on Harry's unease. "I kinda thought it was, I dunno, neat or something. No big deal."
Harry sat up and looked Cedric in the eye.
"It is a big deal," he said forcefully. "I've just never had an anniversary before. I don't really know how all of this works; anniversaries, Christmas, it's so complicated."
"It doesn't have to be," Cedric told him. He pulled Harry to his chest again and asked, "And what did you mean about Christmas?"
"I couldn't decide whether I should get you something," Harry muttered into the other boy's torso.
"You don't have to get me anything," Cedric assured him.
"But I want to!" Harry insisted. "I just wasn't sure if we were doing a gift exchanging thing, you know? I didn't want to look silly, being the only one to get the other something. Not that you have to get me anything, because, you don't."
"Am I going to have to do that thing where I kiss you to keep you from babbling?" Cedric asked. "If it helps at all, I already got you something. Sort of a combination Christmas and anniversary present."
"Oh," Harry said. He grinned. "So what'd you get me?"
"Yeah, right!" Cedric scoffed. "Like I'm really going to tell you."
"Oh, come on!" Harry cried. "I'd tell you!"
"Well, that's the difference between us," Cedric replied. "I wouldn't even ask. I'd much rather be surprised. You'll find out what it is when I give it to you."
"All right, all right," Harry relented. "So the gift thing is definitely a go then. Okay. When should we exchange, though, Thursday or Friday?"
"Hmmm, good question," Cedric mused. "Well, we could come back here after the Yule Ball and do it then. That way, if the whole thing is dreadful, we'll still be able to cap off the evening with something nice."
"Something to look forward to, you mean?" Harry asked, quoting back Cedric's own words from before the first task.
"Exactly," Cedric answered, giving Harry a squeeze.
"Excellent idea," Harry declared. He yawned loudly. His eyelids felt very heavy all of a sudden. "I'm really glad we don't have classes tomorrow."
"That doesn't mean that it's okay for you to sleep here tonight," Cedric said, poking Harry gently. "Let's pack up our stuff and go to bed. We can come back tomorrow night and try again with Cho."
"Okay," Harry grumbled sleepily.
The two boys packed everything up and left the Room of Requirement. As they headed down the seventh floor corridor, Harry went over what would be happening in the next few days. Not only did he need to find Cedric the perfect gift, but he would also be slow dancing with his former crush and boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. His mind was so hazy and distracted that he probably wouldn't have made it to Gryffindor Tower if it hadn't been for Cedric leading him there. They said goodnight at the Fat Lady's portrait and Harry stumbled up the stairs to his dormitory.
I'm really, really glad we don't have classes tomorrow, Harry thought groggily as he dove into bed.
O O O O O O O
The next day Harry relayed his two dilemmas to his friends. He had to wait until lunch, though, as he'd slept through breakfast.
"I don't get it," Ron said once Harry was finished. "What's the big deal about dancing with Cho? I thought you used to fancy her."
"That is the problem, Ron," Hermione answered exasperatedly. "Cedric knows he used to fancy Cho, and now Harry has to dance with her, very close, in front of him. That would make anyone self-conscious."
You don't know the half of it, Harry thought.
And she really didn't. Harry never told his friends about Cedric's past with the Ravenclaw girl. It was obviously the sort of thing Cedric didn't want anyone knowing about. If he ever decided to tell them that was his choice, but otherwise Harry's lips were sealed.
"The gift crisis is more easily solved," Hermione said. "We can simply go into Hogsmeade and find something there."
"How?" Ron asked. "There's no Hogsmeade visits scheduled for before Christmas."
Hermione smiled mischievously.
"There's more than one way to get into Hogsmeade," she said in a light, cryptic tone.
"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed. "Since when do you suggest rule breaking?"
"Sometimes you need to bend the rules for a good cause," the girl reasoned. "We'll have to go tomorrow, though. I, er, already have plans for today."
"Plans, eh?" Harry said. "You're being rather vague, Hermione. What are you going to be doing?"
"I'm not telling," she said defiantly. The boys stared at her, agape. "What, Harry's the only one who's allowed to have mysterious liaisons?"
"Could you not refer to my dates as 'mysterious liaisons'?" Harry demanded, skewering some potatoes with his fork. "It makes them sound… tawdry."
"Fair enough," Hermione conceded. "So, tomorrow, after lunch?"
"It's a date," Ron said.
"What?" Hermione squeaked. "No it's not."
Again the boys stared, baffled by her sudden outburst.
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"Nothing," she replied. "I've gotta go."
Hermione swiftly gathered up her things and bolted from the Great Hall. Ron and Harry watched her go, baffled by her sudden mood swing. Then Ron shook his head and turned back to his food.
"Completely mental," he said to no one in particular.
O O O O O O O
By the time Harry reached the location of Room of Requirement that night, the door had already appeared in the usually blank wall. He hesitated for a minute before opening it. He couldn't explain why, really. Harry knew exactly what was on the other side, and that there was no avoiding it. Still, he took a moment to prepare himself before opening the door. He was immediately greeted by the sound of Cho laughing.
"Don't be ridiculous," she was saying to Cedric. "I am nothing if not delightful."
"Yeah, yeah," Cedric mocked. He caught sight of Harry entering and beamed. "Hey!"
"Hi, Harry," Cho said warmly.
"Hey," Harry responded. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing," Cho told him. "Ric was just warning me to behave myself, and I was merely informing him that it was unnecessary, as I am always well-behaved."
"And I was about to inform her that she is quite mistaken," Cedric finished for her. "She should thank you for walking in and interrupting when you did before she embarrassed herself."
"Like Harry walking in is enough to stop me from embarrassing myself," Cho replied. She stomped over to the stereo and began shuffling through the stack of CDs.
"How are you, Harry?' Cedric asked, pulling him into a hug.
"A little confused," Harry answered. "Did she just call you Ric?"
"It's her little joke," Cedric explained. "She knows I hate the nickname 'Ced' so as an alternative she calls me 'Ric'. She thinks she's funny."
"I am funny," Cho sang from the corner.
Harry laughed uncertainly. Cedric and Cho were so comfortable with each other; he couldn't help feeling a little like an outsider. This did nothing whatsoever to alleviate his nerves about what they were here to do.
As if he sensed what Harry was feeling, Cedric leaned close and whispered, "Don't be nervous. She takes a bit of getting used to, but she's quite sweet if you give her a chance."
The younger boy nodded. He knew he should trust his boyfriend. After all, if Cedric had thought this would end poorly he wouldn't have arranged for Cho to come and assist them. That gave Harry some comfort. Not a lot, but some.
"So, what do you think?" Cho asked as she sauntered over to join them. She placed her hands on her hips and looked back and forth between the two boys. "Are we gonna do this or what?"
Cedric turned to Harry.
"Sure," Harry answered. "Let's do it."
While Cedric went to man the stereo, Harry and Cho got into position. A year ago Harry would've melted at the thought of wrapping his arms around the pretty Ravenclaw Seeker. Now it just made him extremely uncomfortable.
"This is weird," he admitted.
"It's weird," Cho agreed.
"Very weird," Harry amended as he placed a hand on Cho's waist.
"Glad we're in agreement," Cho muttered, grabbing onto Harry's shoulder. "Ric told me that he filled you in on our sordid history."
"Yes he did," Harry replied. Wanting to be honest, he threw in, "Did he tell you I used to have crush on you?"
"He failed to mention that," Cho said. "Probably worried I'd try and steal you away if he did. Is that why you asked me to the ball?"
"Kind of," the boy confessed.
"Naughty-naughty, Harry," she scolded. "Too bad you're a queer, otherwise I definitely would've said yes. You are quite the hottie. I'm surprised Ric was able to land a boy like you."
"You're aware that I can hear every word you're saying, right?" Cedric said flatly as he sorted through the music selection.
"Well then we'd better keep our voices down, or else you might overhear our secret plan to run away together," Cho shot back. She winked at her dance partner and said, "Right, Harry?"
"Absolutely," Harry responded with a grin.
"Elope later," Cedric said, sticking a CD into the stereo, "dance now."
Music filled the air. Cho pulled Harry a bit closer. A few minutes ago that would have made Harry feel unspeakably awkward, but now that the tension was slightly broken between them it actually felt kind of nice. Still weird, of course, but nice all the same.
"You ready?" she asked him.
"Ready or not," he said, "here we go."
Shakily, Harry took in a breath and stepped to the beat.
O O O O O O O
"So it wasn't so bad then?" Hermione asked Harry the following afternoon.
The pair was making their way up the stairs to the third floor. From there they planned on taking a secret passage to Hogsmeade concealed in the statue of a humpbacked witch. It was only Harry and Hermione going on this excursion as Ron had backed out at the last minute. According to him, "illicit Hogsmeade visits to buy a friend's boyfriend's Christmas gift" wasn't really his thing.
"Not at all, actually," Harry replied truthfully. "Cho's really great, we got along very well."
"Good," Hermione said. "How did the dancing part go?"
Harry thought for a moment about the number of times he had accidentally stepped on Cho's feet before answering, "That didn't go quite as well."
"I'm positive you'll get it before Friday," Hermione said comfortingly as they approached the humpbacked witch statue. They looked up and down the corridor. No one was around. "Check the map," she told him.
Taking the wrinkly old piece of parchment out of his pocket, Harry pressed his wand to it and said the magic words: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The familiar lines of ink danced across the page for a few moments until the Marauder's Map was complete. Harry studied its contents closely and found that the only dots nearby in their corridor were his and Hermione's.
"All clear," he assured her. He mumbled a quick "Mischief managed!" to clear the map, then tapped the stone statue beside them and said, "Dissendium!" Instantly the small opening in the witch's hump appeared. "Do you want me to help you in?" Harry asked. Hermione didn't answer. She looked a little uneasy. "Hermione?"
"I'm not so sure this is a good idea anymore," she said. "What if we get caught?"
"This was your idea!" Harry argued.
"I know," Hermione admitted. "But I didn't really think about it until right now. If we're caught sneaking into Hogsmeade, we'll be in a lot of trouble."
"Well, stay here if you want," Harry told her, "but I'm going."
Without another word, Harry hoisted himself up and through the opening. He slid a ways down the stone shoot inside the witch's hump. It must have been long, considering it started on the third floor and led to a tunnel that went underneath the Hogwarts' grounds, but it was so dark and went so fast that Harry could hardly tell. After a minute or two he landed firmly in the underground passageway. It was even darker at the bottom than on the ride down. Harry pulled out his wand.
"Lumos," he said softly, igniting the tip.
He looked around the beginning of the now-familiar tunnel. Not for the first time, Harry wondered just what part of the grounds he was under. Probably the greenhouses or somewhere near the Quidditch pitch.
All of a sudden, Harry was torn from his musings by the sound of something coming down the chute behind him. He turned, holding his wand out before him, and witnessed Hermione tumbling out of the opening. She landed hard on the ground, but quickly stood and brushed herself off.
"You didn't tell me about the slide," Hermione muttered, scowling slightly.
"I thought you weren't coming," Harry replied.
"Harry, if it hadn't been for my encouraging you to tell him how you feel, you wouldn't even be with Cedric right now," she said. "Do you really think I can trust you to pick out a Christmas-slash-anniversary gift by yourself?"
"Hey, I'm not completely hopeless!" Harry protested.
"No, you are," Hermione retorted, strolling past him to start down the passageway. "It's not your fault, really. All boys are. I mean, look at Ron."
"Oh, unfair!" Harry called after her. He moved quickly to catch up with her, saying, "I am nowhere near as bad as Ron!"
"Well, that's true," Hermione accepted. "But you're still kind of bad."
"It's my first relationship," the boy grumped. "I can't help being a little clueless. And hey," he added, realizing something, "you don't have any more experience than I do! You have less, even!"
Hermione smiled slightly in response to this accusation and shrugged.
"Wait," Harry said, stopping. "What's with that? What does" – he did an exaggerated imitation of her smile and shrug – "mean?"
"It means that you have no idea what I'm up to on summer breaks," Hermione informed him. "And I do have a secret date to the Yule Ball. How do you know I don't have a secret boyfriend as well?"
Harry thought about this as they began walking again. Did Hermione really have a secret boyfriend, or was she just joking around with him? There was that – what did she call it? – "mysterious liaison" of hers the other day. Was something going on with her? If there was, Harry supposed her secret would come out eventually. His certainly did.
O O O O O O O
A long while later, Harry and Hermione reached the end of the tunnel and climbed the many steps up to the trapdoor in Honeydukes' basement. They used Harry's Invisibility Cloak to sneak upstairs without being noticed, then shed the garment once inside the store itself. Just as Hermione predicted, the village of Hogsmeade was bustling with shoppers so close to Christmas, so the two teens went almost completely unnoticed even despite the absence of other Hogwarts students in the village. Since they were already in it to begin with, they decided to look around Honeydukes Sweetshop for a while first before moving on to another store.
"Any idea what Cedric might like?" Hermione asked as they looked over a long row of shelves filled with different sweets.
Harry shrugged.
"I don't know about candy," he said, "but he likes spicy foods."
"How about some Pepper Imps?" Hermione suggested, gently fingering a pack. "They make you breathe fire. They're probably spicy."
"I don't know," Harry said. "Something about giving your boyfriend candy that makes him breathe fire doesn't sound right to me."
"I suppose that's true," she agreed. Hermione put the Pepper Imps back and continued down the aisle. "Why don't you do a special order of Bertie Bott's?"
"What's that?"
"You can place a special order of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans for a specific theme of flavor," Hermione explained. "For example, if you can ask for a breakfast themed order, and they'll only pack flavors like eggs and sausages and pancakes; things like that, things you'd eat for breakfast."
"So I can ask for a spicy flavor order," Harry filled in. "That's an excellent idea! How do we do it?"
"Well, first you need to take of your glasses and smooth your hair down over your forehead," Hermione instructed.
After giving her a bewildered look, which she met with one that plainly said she meant it, Harry followed his friend's orders. The world went a little fuzzy when he removed his glasses, but he was able to make out basic shapes.
"Why am I doing this?" he wondered.
"Because we have to talk to one of the owners to place the order," she told him. "And while I highly doubt he'll be able to identify me, you are far too recognizable. So keep your glasses off and cover your scar."
"Got it," Harry replied.
He did as he was told and followed Hermione up to the register. The woman sitting behind it was Mrs. Flume, the owner's wife. She eyed them curiously as they approached her. She was no doubt wondering what a pair of teenagers was doing in the shop when there was no Hogwarts visit scheduled.
Hermione smiled sweetly and said, "Hi, we'd like to place a Bertie Bott's special order."
"Shouldn't you two be in school?" Mrs. Flume asked, looking between them. Harry smoothed down the hair resting over his scar self-consciously.
"We don't go to Hogwarts," Hermione told her. "We're here with our father, actually. You know, a bit of Christmas shopping."
Mrs. Flume looked like she didn't really buy Hermione's story. Harry braced himself, fully prepared to try and make a run for it if she called them out. But Mrs. Flume merely grunted, seemingly satisfied by the girl's explanation.
"What's the order?" she asked.
Hermione told the owner's wife what they wanted and Mrs. Flume wrote it down, saying their order would be ready in an hour. They thanked her and stepped out onto Hogsmeade's snow-covered main drive.
"That was close," Harry said as the door closed behind them. "I was sure she wouldn't believe you."
"She probably didn't," Hermione replied. "She might just not care."
"Whatever," Harry said indifferently. "I'm just glad that that's over with and I don't have to worry about this boyfriend-present business anymore."
"You're joking, right?" Hermione laughed. "Harry, you can't only get Cedric a bag of Bertie Bott's for Christmas!"
Harry groaned.
"But it's so clever and thoughtful!"
"And not enough!" Hermione pressed, still smiling with a hint of arrogance.
Watching her smile, Harry noticed something. Her teeth were straighter than usual somehow.
"What's up with your teeth?" he asked.
Hermione made a discomforted face and covered her mouth with her hand, saying, "Oh, that." She pulled her hand away and continued, "Remember when Malfoy messed my teeth up with that curse?" Harry nodded. "Well, Madam Pomfrey had to set them right, but she didn't really know what right was so I sort of let her straighten them out a bit more than usual."
"That's why you kept biting your tongue the next day," Harry realized.
"Yes," Hermione said. "I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner."
"I might never have noticed if it hadn't been for your condescending smile," Harry said with a faux bitterness that his own smile betrayed. He sighed deeply and said, "It's really not enough?"
She grabbed his hand and pulled him along the street.
"Come on, Harry. We've got an hour. We'll find something else."
Despite his predicament, Harry couldn't help noticing how cheerful and festive the village of Hogsmeade was around Christmastime. There was a layer of snow over everything, giving the scene an incredibly peaceful look even with all of the holiday shoppers rushing about. Store windows had colorful displays that stood out particularly in contrast with the white all around them. There were carolers and revelers and dozens of people lugging heavy packages, all smiling through the cold and wishing each other a happy Christmas. It made Harry glad that he and Hermione had come regardless of the risk.
They went through a number of stores but nothing seemed to satisfy either of them. There were a few things Harry liked in Zonko's Joke Shop but, as Hermione pointed out, Dungbombs and Nose-Biting Teacups are fine for friends but not very good Christmas gifts for someone you're dating. ("Also," she added, "never buy me a Nose-Biting Teacup.") Harry in turn pointed out in Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop that, while there were many fine items there, even the finest quill wasn't quite special enough. Their hour nearly over, Harry was starting to give up when Hermione suggested they try Gladrags Wizardwear.
"What am I supposed to get him in here?" Harry asked, riffling through a section of socks with strange properties. He looked at a tag and read, "'Scream when they get too smelly!' Not quite sure that's the message I'm looking for."
"They have normal clothes, too," Hermione said, indicating another area of the store.
Indeed there were normal clothes. There were a lot of winter items, such as hats and scarves and gloves. There were also several nice wool sweaters in a number of colors. Harry looked through them and found one the exact same shade as his dress robes, a handsome bottle green. He pulled it out from the pile to get a better look. It looked good, and felt to be the right size for Cedric. It was perfect.
"That's lovely," Hermione admired. "Does Cedric like green?"
"It's his favorite color," Harry said.
"Excellent!" Hermione said cheerfully. "Now hurry up and buy it. We've got to pick up the order from Honeydukes and get back to school before dinner."
Harry purchased the sweater, then hurried back to Honeydukes Sweetshop with Hermione. There he paid for his special Bertie Bott's order, along with some Toothflossing Stringmints for Hermione to say thank you for helping him out. She tried telling Harry that he didn't need to, but he insisted.
"You've got to take care of those teeth now that they're fixed," he told her.
"Thank you," Hermione said, accepting the mints with a gracious smile.
They had to linger around the store for a bit to make sure all was clear, but were soon able to slip under the Invisibility Cloak and depart through the basement.
The trek down the tunnel felt shorter coming from Hogsmeade than it had from the school. The slide, on the other hand, was much more difficult to get up than it had been to go down. With some struggle and, for Hermione, a little bit of help the pair was able to make their way up and out of the witch statue's hump. Unfortunately, they misjudged the distance between the opening in the statue and the ground, and fell ungracefully out, landing in the third floor corridor with a thud. Harry recovered first, springing up in a flash, and then helped Hermione to her feet. They glanced around to make sure there was no one to witness what had just happened. The corridor was empty, so Harry and Hermione composed themselves and walked calmly toward the stairs.
"Well, that was fun," Harry quipped, with a false air of casualty.
"Most definitely," Hermione responded.
O O O O O O O
Over dinner, they relayed the events of their afternoon to Ron in hushed tones.
"I have to admit, I'm a little surprised you didn't get caught," Ron told them. "It was one thing for Harry to sneak in when the place was packed with students, but in the middle of the week like that…"
"Is that why you didn't come?" Hermione asked good-humoredly. "Too scared?"
"No!" Ron cried with slight indignation. "Of course not!"
"Why didn't you come?" Harry queried. "Does the whole Quidditch thing make you uncomfortable?"
"For the last time, no," Ron said, still slightly annoyed. "I just didn't feel like going. I'm happy for you. Really." Off of Harry's dubious gaze, he added coolly, "Can we just please change the subject?"
"Okay," Harry said. Searching his mind for a new topic, he blurted out, "Hermione got her teeth fixed."
"Harry!" Hermione hissed.
"Of course she did," Ron said absentmindedly. "Like, a month ago. Did you just notice?"
"Uhm, yeah," Harry replied. "You're telling me you noticed a month ago?"
"What?" Ron said. "It's not like I'm completely clueless," he threw in, nearly echoing Harry's words earlier that day.
Harry and Hermione shared a look, obviously thinking the same thing: maybe Ron wasn't such a lost case after all. They didn't say another word about it, merely shrugged and went back to their dinner.
Then Ron tried, for the eighteenth time, to get Hermione to tell him who her date to the Yule Ball was, and the moment was ruined.
O O O O O O O
"You know what's weird?" Cho asked as she and Harry twirled around the Room of Requirement's makeshift dance floor.
"I'm trying to concentrate and you're asking questions?" Harry murmured.
"You're doing fine, and don't interrupt my train of thought," she admonished. "I was just thinking: Ric and I used to date, and we're both Seekers. And now you and Ric are dating, and you're both Seekers. And you used to like me, and I'd totally take a run at you if you weren't dating my best friend and, y'know, gay, and we're both Seekers as well. Isn't that weird?"
"Yes, Cho, it's downright eerie," Harry said unconvincingly.
"Maybe I should think about dating Draco Malfoy," Cho mused. "Then we would have all four Hogwarts Seekers in the mix."
"Now that's weird," Harry told her, successfully pulling a twirl on his dance partner.
It was late on Christmas Eve and, after four nights of practicing with a real-life female, Harry had finally gotten the hang of slow dancing. Not only that, but he felt much more comfortable with Cho. The two of them were chatting and laughing like they'd been friends for, well, maybe not years, but much longer than they were in reality.
"If you're finished planning a bizarre Seeker four-gy," Cedric called over the music, "I think we should probably wrap this lesson up for the night."
"Oh, is that your expert opinion, Professor Diggory?" Cho teased. "I think you just want me to clear out so you can get an anniversary snog with your hot boyfriend."
"Yeah, that was the plan," Cedric agreed without a hint of embarrassment.
"All right, I'll go," Cho pouted. "But I want details tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow's Christmas," Harry pointed out.
"Consider it a gift to me then," Cho said.
She gathered up her things and gave both boys a kiss on the cheek, then departed with a cheery wave. The boys smiled at each other from across the dance floor.
"So, now what?" Cedric asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Harry said. "I believe I heard someone mention snogging?"
Cedric's smile broadened as he promptly closed the distance between them, taking the younger boy in his arms and kissing him. Harry deepened the kiss, enjoying the feel of Cedric's arms and body and lips. Cedric started to guide their embrace over toward the couch, but Harry pulled away before they made it. He looked at Harry, concerned.
"Harry?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
Harry only smiled mysteriously and drifted over toward the stereo. He pulled a CD out of the pile, put it in, and skipped to the last track. As the music began to play, Harry turned and held out his hand for Cedric.
"Dance with me," he said.
Cedric grinned, and started ambling over to him.
"You realize that this might completely undo all the work you've done in the past few nights."
"I don't care," Harry shrugged. He set out across the floor as well. "It's our anniversary, our first, and it's Christmas Eve. I want to dance with my boyfriend."
They met each other halfway. Again Cedric wrapped his arms around Harry, only this time without a kiss. Instead, he pressed his forehead to the shorter boy's.
"Okay," he said.
And they swayed to the music.
"It's weird," Harry said, "how different life was two months ago. Neither of us were champions, there was no tournament for us to worry about. Things were much simpler back then."
"But if it hadn't been for the tournament, we might not have gotten together," Cedric theorized.
"That's true," Harry replied. "In that case I'm almost glad – no, I am glad I was entered." He looked up at Cedric. "If I had to go through everything that happened between Halloween and the first task again, with all of the school against me, just to be here with you right now, I would."
Cedric ducked down and kissed Harry, pulling the boy more tightly into him. Then he moved his lips to Harry's ear, like he did so many weeks ago after they were chosen for the tournament.
"Happy anniversary, Harry," he whispered.
"Happy anniversary, Cedric," Harry said back.
End Notes: The song Harry and Cedric dance to is Sheryl Crow's "I Shall Believe", which is the last track on her 1993 album 'Tuesday Night Music Club', hence skipping to the last track. I wanted to use "Wonderwall" by Oasis but it was not yet released at the time this chapter takes place, December 1994. I like to avoid anachronisms where I can, and the Sheryl Crow fits just as well, if not better. -kevo