Disclaimer: There's not a chance that I'll ever own HP.

AN: Hey there. So, I already told you that I'll speed up Hermione's pregnancy so here it is. This happens six months after the last chapter. Read and Review Please!

narnia365: Thanks for that suggestion of yours. It really, really helps. Thanks a lot!

svn7777777: Whew! Thanks a lot for cutting it short. LOL! Thank you for that wonderful review. Your review really made me grin. And I'm also looking forward to the reconciliation, just like you. It's good that you like this Draco. Also, this won't be the last you'll hear of Skeeter's bloody rumors. Thanks a lot!

pawsrule: I'm glad that you liked it. Thanks!

TwiTrek: LOL! Cedric is yet to realize that. But we all know Cedric; he's a Hufflepuff so I think you can guess on what he'll do if he finds out about Cho's evil deeds. Don't forget about what I mentioned in my private message. I really hope you can do something about it. Please make the name connected to Harry in a way. Thanks!

saphirablue25: Of course. Harry will find out about Cho's deeds and his baby. I know things won't make so much sense right now. But I promise everything will click into place during the last chapters of this story. Also, thanks for the suggestion. I'll do something about it. Thanks!

mistdapple: This is your first time to send a review, eh? Thanks for sending that suggestion and thanks for the complement. Lastly, I was wondering about the skin color you said. Light peach? Is that supposed to be dark cream or something?

Nobody: Thanks for the suggestion but I don't think that Draco or Cedric is a proper name for the baby. It might ignite questions as to why the baby gets to be named after those two. I apologize. But still, thanks for the suggestion.

proudtobeatheatrekid: Wow! That's a long review. And I love it! Too bad you're having internet problems. I hope it'll be fixed soon. AVPS is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to the Potter Fandom, that's for sure. About the Malfoys sponsoring Skeeter, that idea struck me last week. I was thinking of something that Draco can threaten Skeeter with and then I thought… why not have them sponsor Skeeter. It's something that the Malfoys might do as long as they can also get something from it. Well, I don't know if I'll call Draco…chivalrous. But yeah, he's not a git anymore. Just sort of. LOL! I hope you can review this chapter. Thanks so much. And as a treat…Here's a virtual jar of candies for you. LOL!

pixies114: Many people also suggested that. I guess we just love Harry's emerald eyes, eh? Thanks for the review!


One more thing:

About the baby's name and characteristics… There are quite a few readers who suggested something about this matter. And to be fair…I decided to combine all their ideas and I came up with this…

Gender: Boy (saphirablue25 suggested it to be a boy. Because she thinks that 9 out of 10 stories here make Harry and Hermione's baby a girl. I think she has a point. So let's make it a boy.)

Name: Aiden [little fire] (As suggested by narnia365. He's one of the reviewers who suggested a name complete with meaning. But it was a girl's name. I had him translate it into a boy's name so he came up with that.) About the second name, TwiTrek also suggested a name with a meaning. It's supposed to be Isadora [a gift of Isis] but that's a girl's name so I'm still waiting for her/him to give another boy name. Let's wait for it. Although if TwiTrek won't be able to give one, I think I'll go for Hartley, which means STAG and it sounds close to Harry. But I'll still wait for TwiTrek. The last name will still be Granger. But it'll be Potter later on, of course.

Hair: Untidy Brown (from proudtobeatheatrekid. A combination of Harry's untidy black and Hermione's bushy brown.)

Eye and skin color: Green and light peach. (Suggested by mistdapple)


So that's it. Any violent reactions? I hope there aren't any. Okay read on!


Chapter 29:

The blinding bright light pierced Harry's eyes as he went out the front door of the building. Cho was standing beside him. He nodded at her once and then they both turned on their spot and disappeared with a pop.

Harry and Cho found themselves inside the quarters of the French Falcons Quidditch Team after apparating. When the pop signaled their arrival, their other teammates turned their heads in their direction.

"Finally! What took you guys so long?" Patrick, the team captain, asked them. He was wearing comfortable slacks and a striped polo over a black shirt.

"Sorry. We just finished breakfast." Harry apologized. Being the gentleman that he was, he ushered Cho to lead the way to their seats. The two of them sat beside each other on the last bench.

Patrick stood up from his seat beside his girlfriend and faced everyone. "Okay, since everyone's already here, I'll start talking. Now, remember, this would be our last practice before our match with the Ballycastle Bats. That would be our first match with Harry as our new seeker and Cho and Yihsa as our chasers. Now, during this practice, I want everyone to give their best shots." The captain started his pep talk. "Later, our visitors will arrive. We'll have a practice match against the Appleby Arrows. They will face The Caerphilly Cheetahs right after our match with The Bats."

"Well, good luck to them." Nick suddenly said. The others threw him confused looks. He rolled his eyes and then he instructed "Hey Harry, say CheateRs. Ayihsa, say Cheetahs." He instructed them. Not knowing what Nick was on about, the two just followed.

"Cheaters" Harry recited in his perfect British tongue.

"Cheetahs." Yihsa delivered in her perfect American accent.

"Yep. Sounds exactly British for cheaters to me." Nick said right after the two said cheaters and cheetahs at the same time. The other cackled with laughter as soon as they realized his joke.

"I didn't realize that. Well, good luck to them, indeed." Harry said in between chuckles.

Patrick wiped his teary eyes and then held out his hands to silence his teammates. "Well, it's not illegal to joke about them as long as they don't hear it. I hope you guys won't take the practice match later as a joke. I want you all to be serious about it. We have to show the other teams what we're now capable of." The captain's face went serious so the whole team listened carefully. "For the past eight years, the Falcons haven't shown a remarkable win. Our reputation have been dirtied and rusted. Actually, we were the ones called cheaters because of the old motto 'Let us win, but if we can't win. Let us break a few heads.' But that was during the time of the old Falcons. Now with all of you, I want to start anew and revive our status. Let's raise our standing in the Cup. We'll win this thing. Are you all with me?"

"Yeah!" The Falcons answered their captain. Harry looked around and saw determination etched in all of their faces. He smiled to himself. He can already feel adrenaline rushing through his veins. It felt extremely good.

"Okay, now hit the dressing rooms. Put on your uniforms and meet me at the Pitch. We'll wait for The Arrows there." Instructed the captain as they all stood up and went to the dressing rooms to put on their uniforms.

After a quarter of an hour, Harry emerged from the dressing room. His shiny firebolt was slung over his shoulder. He was wearing his dark grey and white Quidditch uniform complete with the Falcon head emblem on his chest. As he went out to the Pitch, he saw his other teammates already wearing their own uniforms and clutching their broomsticks. Ayihsa, Nick, Joseph, Maverick, Patrick and Cho were already there, just outside the door leading from the quarters to the Pitch.

"Hey, Harry. Can I talk you for a sec?" Patrick said as he walked to Harry's side. He looked nervous and tensed. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder and Harry swore he was shaking.

"What's wrong with you? Are you nervous about the match?" Harry asked with his eyebrows raised. Nick and Joe, who were currently leaning against the wall surrounding the pitch, roared with laughter. While Maverick, who was casually standing with his hands on his pockets, smiled and shook his head gently.

"No. Actually, it's not about the match." Patrick explained after shooting death glares to the Daniels brothers. "Look, I'm planning to p-p-p…"

"To what?" Harry asked curiously.

"To p-propose to Irish."

"Whoa! Seriously? Propose marriage?" Harry asked incredulously. His eyes were wide with shock and excitement.

"Yeah. I'm kinda nervous about it. I'm planning to do it tonight. And I was thinking of asking you what to do." Patrick pointed to the other boys. "These guys aren't helping. They just kept laughing at me and saying that we should just elope."

"Frankly, I don't have any idea why you thought that I can share some wisdom to you about this matter. Do you think I'm already married?" Harry shook his head gently. He looked at the guy's face and he nearly laughed. Patrick was sweating beads and the determined look that he held only a quarter of an hour earlier while he talked to them was long gone. Harry looked at the others, searching for the girl in question. "Where is she, anyway?"

Patrick glanced at Ayihsa and spoke. "Errrm. I told Yihsa to keep her busy so that I can ask you about this matter. What exactly did you do, Yihsa?"

"Well, I hid her shoes." Yihsa answered. "Wait, I'll check her out. Just do what you gotta do immediately, okay?" Then she stormed back into the girl's dressing room after winking at Patrick and Harry.

"Please help me, Harry." Patrick pleaded. His puppy dog eyes staring at Harry's emerald ones.

"Okay, what have you planned so far?" Harry asked.

"Well, I was planning on inviting her to dinner tonight. I've already booked a reservation in a restaurant near her flat. Everything's set. The only problem is…I-I don't know what I'll say." Patrick said hesitantly.

"Talk about nervous, mate! Your voice is shaking. You should know what you'll say, you know? It's quite easy. Just say what you want her to know." Harry explained slowly.

"I just don't know how to start." Patrick defended himself.

Harry smiled at him and then turned to Cho. "Okay, I'll take pity on you and so I'll help." He motioned Cho to walk to him.

Cho raised an eyebrow at him and then looked around. She pointed her finger at herself and then mouthed "Me?"

Harry chuckled. "Yes, Cho. You." Harry said as he didn't wait for Cho anymore. He walked towards her instead. "Patrick, do you have the ring?" He asked Patrick.

Patrick fished a velvet box from his pants' pocket and then handed it to Harry. "There it is."

Harry opened the box and surveyed the ring. As expected from a rich Quidditch player, the ring was not just a ring. It was obvious that it was expensive. The band was golden and it had a ruby. The ruby was not too big. Its size was a quarter of a fingernail. But around the ruby were small glittering diamonds. "Wow. Cool, ring, Pat." Harry closed the box's lid and turned to Patrick. "Now, first thing that you should check before leaving the house is the ring. Make sure that the ring is safely tucked in your pocket. You don't want to kneel down and then suddenly realize you've forgotten the ring, you know? That's a disaster." Harry explained and then tucked the box inside his pocket and showed Patrick. "Then, when you're about to propose, you kneel down, of course. That is the general idea." Harry took Cho's hands in his and stared directly in her eyes. "Just do this, okay Patrick? Do this but don't copy what I'll say. Just say what you want to say to her."

Patrick nodded and watched intently. The other boys sauntered closer to the two Brits and kept silent. Although, they still have their goofy grins plastered in their faces.

Harry took a deep breath and then recited the words. "I've been meaning to tell you this ever since a long time ago. The first time I saw you, I knew you wouldn't just be a simple witch like everyone else in my life. In you, I found someone I can trust and I can confide in. Through the years, we became friends and I just felt invincible when you're with me. You've always been there to guide me and tell me what to do. Honestly, back when we were kids, I really saw you as someone who's bossy and proud but the truth is, I don't know what I'll do without you." Harry paused. Cho gasped.

The moment Harry clutched Cho's hand, her breathing hitched. He was staring intently into her eyes that she felt like melting into them. But what caused her to gasp was not Harry's emerald eyes. But the hazel orbs of another wizard. In front of her eyes, she watched Harry's face morph into another person's. As Harry recited the lines 'I don't know what I'll do without you', it wasn't Harry's face that was in level with hers anymore. It was Cedric's.

"I didn't know when I fell for you." Harry continued. His voice was trembling as if the words were just begging to come out of his mouth. His brows were crunched in extreme concentration as he gazed at the witch in front him. But just like Cho, he was also under a trance. It wasn't Cho's face he was seeing. It was the face of the witch whom he'd wanted to recite those exact words to for as long as he could remember. "I didn't know if it was at the same moment you barged in on my train compartment and proudly pointed your wand at me or the time when you first hugged and comforted me. I didn't know when. All I know is that I am madly in love with you." Harry finished. He touched his pocket and fished out the velvet box from the inside. He kneeled slowly in front of her and then looked again into her eyes.

Cho gasped again as 'Cedric' kneeled down in front of her. Around the two of them, the others' grins were gone. They were all watching with fascination in their eyes as they gazed at the expressive faces of the two Brits.

Harry opened the box and revealed the ring.

Cho didn't even pay the ring any attention. She was busy staring at the hazel eyes of the brown-haired guy kneeling in front of her.

"Will you do me the honor of marrying me…Hermione?" Oh my wizard god! I slipped out!

"Yes… Cedric." Oh my wizard god! I'm not supposed to say that!

Harry's reverie was broken when he saw a bright flash at the corner of his eyes. The flash came from one of the stands. He whipped his face immediately at the direction but he did not see anything.

"Wait, who the heck is Huhmynie? And who's Cedric? Are you guys, nuts?" Joe, who was the farthest from the two, asked. Harry stood up from his kneeling position but still didn't take his eyes off from the stands. He could swear he saw something move just then. Cho, on the other hand, blushed.

"Nothing, just…nothing." Cho stammered.

"Hey, guys, did you see a flash from one of the stands?" Harry asked as he gave up trying to see who the heck flashed on them. He surveyed his companions with a doubtful look.

"I didn't notice anything." Patrick said as he threw a short glance at the stands. He smiled at Harry and then patted his back. "That was great, man! Thanks! I'll keep that in mind later."

"What will you keep in mind?" Irish's voice sounded from the dressing room. She emerged with Ayihsa just beside her. Out of surprise and panic, Harry shoved the velvet box into the pocket of Patrick's uniform. "What's that you got there?" Irish asked, her eyes trained on her boyfriend's pocket.

"Oh, n-nothing." Patrick stuttered. Just then, their expected practice mates arrived and emerged from the door on the other side of the Pitch. Patrick sighed with relief as he walked towards their visitors and welcomed them.

After a few minutes of preparation, their practice match started. It was safe to say that Harry's mind was still full of wonder and question. What the heck was that flash? Who the heck was there at the stands? Not to mention that Hermione's face also clouded his mind. With that currently happening to Harry, you'd think that his lack of concentration would cause them the game. But think again. Never in his life had Harry lost a match, except when he's ill and there were Dementors involved. But he's not ill and there weren't any Dementors. So it's sure that you already know what happened to the match.

Cho, on the other hand, set her own thoughts aside and focused on the game. But occasionally, a certain Hufflepuff's voice and face will swim into her consciousness. It was a good thing that she didn't fall off her broom just because of thinking about the man's handsome face…


Hermione was sitting at one of the benches, outside the castle, surrounding the fountain. It was weekend so there weren't any classes. It was nearly seven then. Only a few more minutes and then dinner will start. She decided to spare a couple of minutes and breathe in a bit of fresh air so she went outside the castle. Due to her condition, she didn't dare go a long way. So she ended up sitting alone in one of the benches.

She lightly cupped her bulging stomach and then caressed it lightly. It had been six months since that night at the Astronomy Tower. Only a few weeks after that night, Draco urged her to tell the other staff about her situation. He said that it's better to tell them sooner so that all of them can look after her and also for her not to be bothered by the secrecy anymore.

Although she would've preferred to tell the others a bit later, she didn't contradict Draco's suggestion. So after a few weeks, she decided to tell all of them. It was during the weekly staff meeting when she told them. Draco was sitting beside her during that night. And occasionally, while she explained her situation, whenever she glances at him, his fixed and straight face will suddenly light up a bit and he'd smile at her just to show support. And because of that, she was able to tell them without breaking down.

To say that they were surprised was an understatement. They were all shocked when they heard what she had to say. There were so many questions. And most of the questions came from the younger professors such as Neville, Cedric and Hannah. But she didn't blame them for the questions. Instead, she patiently answered them as much as possible and as much as she could. After all, they were all batch mates or at some point, attended the school at the same time. They were just simply concerned about her. But even so, there were some details she left out. Like how that happened, who the father was and did the father know about the baby. Those were the questions she wasn't able to answer. Nobody knows the answer to all those questions – not even Ron. All Ron knew was that Harry was the father – except her and Ginny. Even Draco didn't know who the father was. He didn't ask her even once during those six months.

Among all those things mentioned above, there was only one thing that Hermione didn't get right. It was the bit about Draco. Unknown to her, Draco DID know who the baby's father was. Or at least, he had a hunch.

"Hey, Granger-Danger, what are you doing here alone?" A voice suddenly sounded from somewhere near the oak front doors of the castle. Hermione turned her head to the direction of the voice and found Draco Malfoy sauntering up to her slowly.

"Granger-Danger. Now, where did you get that one?" She asked him as soon as he flopped down on the spot next to her.

"I don't know. I came up with it? It's true, actually. You are a danger." Malfoy said as he stared at the fountain.

"How so?"

"You have the nerve to ask that?" Draco snorted. Then he smirked. He held up one finger. "First, you're a danger to me back when we were just studying here."

Hermione laughed, her tummy moving with every laugh.

Draco frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Really, Draco? Me, a danger to you? How?"

"Well, you've always been stealing my position at the top of the class. Because of you, I'm always second. And I didn't like that particular fact. You've always been a danger to my academic position, Granger-Danger." Draco carefully explained. The tone of his voice wasn't angry at all, it was teasing, as if he was daring Hermione to retort to her.

"Excuse me, I very well earned my spot at the honor roll, thank you. I didn't steal it. Admit it, I'm just really better than you." Hermione teased. Now if you were to say that particular sentence to the old git Malfoy, he would've insulted you back. But the Draco beside Hermione merely frowned and shrugged his shoulders.

"That would never be true, Granger-Danger. I'm still better than you." Draco argued.

Hermione simply chuckled and gave him an "If you say so." nod.

"Whatever. Anyway, how's your day?" He changed the topic. It was never a comfortable topic for him. Knowing that he's not really that superior. But still, he'll just keep quiet about it. Hermione smiled appreciatively.

"Well, boring, actually. It is weekend after all, Draco." She said matter-of-factly. She playfully trailed her finger around her round tummy as if tickling her baby.

"Yeah. Hey! You never told me about your day yesterday. How's class? Found any future Granger-Danger?" He teased again. "Did your class tire you so much?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. She stopped what she was doing earlier and proceeded to just resting her hand at the top of her stomach. She looked at the fountain and then answered him. "No. Not really. Actually, they didn't even make me do anything. They just told me to just 'sit back and relax' or the baby will 'jump out of my stomach'. Weird kids, actually. I never thought they'd be like this. Only two years ago, those students were the ones we were ordering around when we were just prefects." She finished. It was indeed weird. Being a teacher and being at that situation made her see the other students in a new light. The older students who were trouble-makers about two years ago and made her prefect life difficult were actually the ones who were most excited about her baby. A day would never pass without one of them asking 'When will you give birth, ma'am?' or 'What'll you name the baby?'. But it was great to have such concerned students.

"Yeah. And two years ago you were just the student who wanted to do so much homework. Look at you now, you're the teacher who lets her students do SO MUCH homework." Draco teased again. He was unconsciously hitting the foot of the bench with the end of his shoes.

"Hey! I'm not giving them TOO much homework." Hermione defended. "At least I think I don't."

Draco roared with laughter at her doubtful expression after saying her last sentence. "At least you give them homework. I, on the other hand, give them detention."

"Detention. You have reasons for giving them detention, right?" Hermione pointedly looked at him.

"Maybe I do? Maybe I don't? Who knows?" Draco said. Hermione playfully hit him on the arm. "You shouldn't be reckless, Hermy-one. You're nine months along. You could give birth any moment, you know?" Draco warned.

Hermione fixed herself. She sat properly in the bench. "I'm scared, you know?" She sighed heavily.

"About the whole giving birth thing? It's natural to be scared. It is hard for a woman to give birth." Draco consoled her. "But it is harder for a MAN to give birth. Have you ever heard of something like that?"

She smacked his arm. "I'm serious."

"Pardon. But seriously, you have nothing to be scared of. You aren't going through that alone. And I heard, once you're done with the giving birth thing, it's all worth it." He tried again. Hermione smiled at him.

"It's not just that. I meant I'm scared of what'll happen after I give birth. You know what I mean. " She explained. She looked at his eyes and tried to convey the message she can't put into words.

"Oh. Well, I don't know what to say." Apparently, he understood what she meant but didn't know what to say.

Hermione sighed heavily. "Well, I can't blame you. I should be talking about these things with my baby's father, not you." Hermione reasoned. She was right. She shouldn't be talking about things like these with Draco. He's not the father, after all. She should be talking to Harry about this. "The only problem is, he's not here."

She heard Draco sigh. "It's Potter, isn't it."

Her head snapped to face him. "What?"

"The baby's father is Potter."

Hermione didn't answer. She didn't even realize that she had said her last sentence out loud. It was supposed to be just a thought to herself. Looks like she was wrong when she thought that Draco had no idea about her baby's father.

"Silence means yes. Besides, I already know even if you don't answer. Harry Potter's your baby's father." Draco said matter-of-factly with a sigh.

"How did you know?" Hermione asked silently. Just then, they heard some noise from the entrance going down to Hagrid's hut. "What's that?" Hermione asked suddenly.

Draco was suddenly on his feet and looking at the direction of the noise. He illuminated his wand and pointed it at the same direction. He found nothing. "Nothing. Maybe just one of the pets of the students who got out of their cages." Draco suggested but his eyebrows were crunched in concentration and Hermione interpreted it as him being doubtful of his own statement. Draco walked back and sat down at the bench again. "Don't change the topic."

"What topic?"

"Did you even tell him about it?" Draco insisted. Hermione sighed heavily. She never liked talking about Harry. It only brought back memories. Memories she didn't want to look back to. But Draco insisted. And after all his help, he deserved answers.

"Trust me, I did." She started. "But there are things that just couldn't happen even though we want them to. He's happy now, I know that you know what I mean, Draco. You know very well that he has a girlfriend."

"Yeah, Chang. But I thought they broke up already?"

"They didn't. Actually that's the reason why they're at France right now. They're having a vacation." Hermione answered. To her, it felt like déjà vu. It was not only once that she talked about this to other people. Everything starts at this very question and then it would lead to why she had a one night stand with Harry. It would always start like that and then it'd lead to only one conclusion. She'd end up talking about everything. First she said it to Viktor, and then to Ginny then to Ron and now to Draco. Honestly, she was getting tired of the repeating process. "Draco, can we please not talk about this? I feel like this whole process was already repeated a lot of times. And I don't particularly like to talk about this. Please, understand."

"Okay. I won't push it anymore. As long as you said that you tried. That's enough. Now it's time for dinner. Let's go inside. It's bad for you to starve yourself, Granger-Danger." He joked again to lighten the mood. He stood up from the bench and held his hand out to her. She took it with a grateful smile and then they both made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

Unknown to both of them, that night, there weren't any students' pets who got out of their cages. Unknown to them, the one who made the noise was another member of the faculty who happened to accidentally overhear their conversation. It was also unfortunate that the said person overheard them at the exact time that Draco said the one thing that should've been kept a secret…


Cedric inserted his wand through the wand-shape gap at the wall beside Cho's door. Again, he's there to spend dinner with her. It already became their routine every weekend to have dinner together just for old times' sake and to be able to catch up to what the other had been doing the past week.

The door knob made a clicking sound as soon as his wand lighted a dull blue. He took his wand again and tucked it back in his pocket. After twisting the knob, he opened the door and went inside. He found Cho sitting in the couch with her eyes closed. She probably fell into a short nap while waiting for him. He tiptoed his way to the back of the couch. He kissed the top of her head to wake her up. She stirred slightly and was about to look around when he cupped his hands to cover her eyes. "Guess who." He said playfully.

He can practically feel her rolling her eyeballs behind her closed lids. He chuckled to himself and waited for her answer.

Cho was not planning to answer but Cedric didn't make a move to indicate that he was planning to take his hands off of her eyes. "Cedric." She said. And then she cupped her hands over his and then started tugging at it. She heard him chuckle again and then he took his hands off.

"So you fell asleep waiting for me? Sorry about that." He apologized as he jumped from behind the couch and then took his seat beside her.

"What took you so long?" Cho asked. She stretched her arms as she yawned then she leaned against Cedric's chest and then closed her eyes again. She took a deep breath and his scent mingled with the air she breathed in. He smelled so masculine and clean like he just got out from the bathroom after taking a bath. She can even smell his aftershave. Just then, she remembered what happened just that morning. How Harry showed Patrick how to propose to a girl but what she saw was Cedric's face instead of Harry's. Until that very moment, she still didn't have an answer. Why she saw Cedric's face. Why she didn't even feel a slight pang of nervousness the whole time Harry told her all those things. And most importantly why she didn't feel a tinge of hurt when Harry said Hermione's name instead of hers. She didn't have a clue why.

"Well, it's just hard to get out of the castle. But no worries, I'm already here." Cedric answered her. She felt his chest vibrate as he spoke. Not only that. She also felt his heart's hammering in his chest. She felt Cedric's arm rise from his side and wrap themselves around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She didn't even contradict his movements. Instead, she leaned closer to him and savored his masculine scent. His heart's hammering sounded like music to her. She had a hunch that she can fall asleep just leaning against his chest and she'll have a comfortable sleep despite the sitting position. His torso was just so wide that she felt secured and comfortable leaning against it. Not to mention he was warm. "Uhhhhm, Cho? I have a question."

"Hmmm?" was Cho's answer. She was too busy listening to Cedric's heart's lullaby to even say a word.

"Do you think Harry'll go back to London anytime soon?" Cedric asked as he looked at a part of the dark sky that was visible through the window. Up until that moment, he still can't forget about what he overheard. Just before he was able to get outside the castle grounds, he overheard Malfoy and Hermione talking. He didn't intend to eavesdrop. What really happened was, he accidentally overheard their conversation. He was about to go out of the castle grounds when he found them conversing near the fountain. He tried his hardest to not make any noise and just get out of that place as soon as he can. But he accidentally heard Draco say that Harry was Hermione's baby's father, which she didn't deny.

At the sound of Cedric's question, Cho immediately sat properly and then turned to him. "What did you ask?"

"I-I." He stammered. He sighed and then tried again. "I mean. Why did he just decide to stay here and leave everybody behind? I thought it was because of them that he defeated Voldemort. Just so they can all live together. I mean, didn't he want to stay with the Weasleys? Or Hermione or…"

"Why did you suddenly bring up that topic, Cedric? What happened?" Cho asked, a bit irritated. She didn't know why but talking about Harry at that moment, irritated her. They can only talk and see each other for about a couple of hours every week. And now he's just wasting the time talking about something and someone else.

"Nothing. Err. Nothing happened." He lied. As much as he hated to lie to Cho, he can't do anything about it. After all, it wasn't his secret to share. It was bad enough that he heard their conversation. It would be worse to tell somebody else about what he heard. He looked back at Cho as the latter looked intently at him.

"Look, Cedric. I wasn't the one who decided for Harry." Cho said. It was true. It was Harry's own decision to stay there. But deep down, she felt like she really had something to do with all of these. She shook her head to dismiss the thought. "Whatever he decided, it's out of our hands. Let's just let him be, okay?" No! You had something to do with this! A voice from the back of her mind, dictated. Again, the guilt-like feeling loomed over her. But she ignored it and set it aside.

"I just think that he should at least go home. It had been six months and he has to go home as soon as-" Cedric was cut-off midsentence when Cho suddenly cupped her hand over his mouth to prevent him from speaking.

"It's not in our hands, Cedric. This conversation is over, okay?" Cho insisted.

Cedric didn't want to leave the topic alone. He felt like he had the responsibility to convince Harry to go home to his son and the baby's mother. But as much as he hated to admit itt, Cho had a point. And when you think about it carefully, Hermione wouldn't be the kind of witch who'd just sit back and not tell someone something important. More so if it was about her, her baby and the baby's father. Hermione must have done something about it. It was true that it was out of their hands. He sighed and admitted defeat. He just had to forget about what he found out. He'll keep it as a secret as long as he lived.

Cho felt his warm breath when he sighed and then she smiled. "Are you ready to let go of the topic. Cedric dramatically frowned and slowly nodded. Cho took her hand off and she squealed when Cedric suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and then pushed her into the couch.

"Nobody interrupts Cedric Diggory when he's talking. You'll pay for that, Cho!" Cedric said with a mischievous smile. He pushed her into a lying position on the couch. His form was hovering over her, his two arms on either side of her head, preventing her from escaping. Then he tickled her.

If there was something that Cho didn't want others to know, it was the fact that she was ticklish. That was her weakness. Cedric knew about it and that was his way of tormenting her ever since their childhood. He tickled her and she laughed out loud.

"Cedric, stop it!" Cho managed to say in between howls of laughter. Cedric was still tickling her waist, where she's most ticklish. "Stop it!"

"Not until you say sorry!" Cedric replied as he laughed too.

"Never!" With as much courage as a laughing girl could muster, she pushed him away. And because he was only hovering over her with his knees, he lost his balance as soon as she pushed him. He fell with his back on the couch.

The funny thing was, when he fell, he managed to wrap his arm around her waist and so she fell with him. Or more like she fell over him.

Cedric grunted when Cho landed over him. It was not a lie that Cho was pretty heavy. She was pretty tall and although she was sexy, she still was a bit heavy. He was panting with his eyes closed as Cho's laughter died down. He tried to relax, without opening his eyes. He felt the hammering of her heart. He didn't know what her position was when she landed but he really could literally feel her heart. Cedric slowly opened his eyes.

Cho was staring intently into Cedric's face when he opened his eyes. When he fell, he had his arms around her so she fell over him. Their faces were only inches from each other and they could practically feel their warm breaths mingling. They were still panting.

They looked at each other's eyes and the room just felt a bit warmer at that moment. Nobody bothered to move and stand from their position. They just merely lied there and stared at each other's eyes as if they were conversing just by looking into each other.

Cho felt like they had been in that position for a few hours – but it was just a few seconds – when Cedric close the gap between their faces. Their lips met for the first time.

Cedric felt her soft lips against his. He inwardly smiled. How many times had he dreamed of kissing her? Probably too many times to even count. He never imagined their kiss to happen at that situation. He dreamed about it but he never thought that it would feel so good. At first he was just kissing her softly. But after a few moments, she started responding. Their lips moved in synchronization against one another. It was as if their lips had a life of their own and were moving exactly in accordance to the other. He slowly tried to move her from above him. He shifted to the side and let her fall gently beside him. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

Cho snaked her hand from her sides and she rested him against his chest then she snaked them slowly to his neck and she tangled her fingers in his hair. She didn't know what was happening to her. Her mind was telling her that this shouldn't be done by two best friends. But her heart was dictating the opposite. It was as if she longed for this moment. To feel strong arms wrap themselves securely around her and assure her that she won't be in danger as long as she's with this man. It was then that everything clicked. The reason why she'd always anticipated the weekends. Why she never got nervous around Harry anymore. Why her heart starts to hammer whenever Cedric was near her. Why she saw Cedric's face instead of Harry's earlier that morning. All the answers started to click into place.

After what seemed like several days, they broke apart, both gasping for air. Cho's fingers were knotted in Cedric's hair while Cedric's hands were comfortably resting around Cho's waist. They stared at each other's eyes.

As Cho gazed at Cedric's brown orbs, it was then that she admitted to herself. She was in love with her best friend, Cedric Anthony Diggory.


AN: Gosh! That was a long chapter. I hope you didn't get bored with that. Sorry if it was so long.. But I merged errrmm… three chapters in this one. So I hope you don't hate me right now. So there we go, Cho finally realized it. She wasn't in love with Harry anymore. Harry's free! Let's celebrate! Oh and did anybody notice the familiar names of the Quidditch teams? I borrowed those from Quidditch through the Ages. But I changed some. The French Falcons Quidditch Team was really Falmouth Falcons but they're at France so I decided to change it to French Falcons. But it's the same team. Also the Caerphilly Cheetahs are originally Caerphilly Catapults, I think. But I'm not sure so I just settled with Cheetahs. That's it! So READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!


Up next on First and Last:

Cedric and Hermione sees a bloody article on the Daily Prophet written by Skeeter. I wonder what it's about. More over, I wonder what Cedric will think about it.

Draco and Hermione will have an argument. What will it be about? Will they be enemies again? I hope not. Tune in next time to find out! Read and Review!


READ AND REVIEW!