Songs for this chapter: This Sweet Love by James Yuill and Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran
I waited until we were about two weeks into the summer break and then I asked Albus if he would take me to visit Harry. It hadn't occurred to me after our first year that I could simply visit, and of course after finding out he was basically under lock and key I would not have been able to anyway. Then last summer I hadn't even been in the country so it wasn't really a possibility. But this summer I didn't want to stick to just owl post. I wanted to see his face, in person no less! Albus had easily caved to my begging and even donned a pair of trousers with a long tunic for the occasion in an effort to appease the Dursleys who we knew were adverse to magical folk. I wore my everyday shorts and a tank top. I didn't even bother to hide my still somewhat visible scars because I was no longer feeling self-conscious about them and I knew that Harry wouldn't mention them.
I actually tended to blush when thinking of my scars any more. I wasn't sure how Albus would react if he knew, but Cedric had taken it upon himself to be in charge of administering my treatment when it came to the scar cream. It made me feel a bit… well wanton… but I got a jumping feeling in my stomach when he oh so carefully rubbed the ointment into the column of my throat and delicately over the top of my right breast. My clothing was always on when this happened, but it just felt so risqué and right all at the same time. It helped to make me forget that the scars were ugly that was for certain. Cedric never looked at them like they were ugly. Instead he always had a hungry look when he looked at them and put the cream on, and I was guaranteed a fairly good snog as reward afterward so I wasn't complaining.
So no I wasn't too worried about my scars being seen when we went to see Harry. The only thing I was worried about was if my Aunt and Uncle would be nasty to us when we arrived. I should have liked to call ahead and announce my arrival, but I hadn't gotten their number from Harry. So instead Albus and I apparated to the neighborhood, a few blocks away from their house of course so we wouldn't spook them by doing magic too close, and we walked up to their house. It was actually a very nice house even if it did look a bit like a carbon copy of the house on either side of it.
I had a smile on my face when I trotted up their front walk, with Albus in my wake, to knock on their front door. That smile died pretty quickly on my face when the door was thrown open and a very angry looking Vernon Dursleys greeted me by way of demanding that I leave at once as his face slowly grew more and more red.
"I was only hoping to visit with Harry for a bit," I said quickly, very aware that he could slam the door in my face at any moment. "Maybe we could go to a local diner or something so as not to be at your house making you uncomfortable?"
"I'll not have my freak of a nephew making himself even more of a nuisance thank you very much," he snapped and I felt Albus step up behind me and place his hand on my lower back. "Now get off of my property."
"Our mistake Mr. Dursley," Albus said somewhat coolly, but I didn't look up to see his face, I was instead focused on the sight of Harry standing halfway down the stairs waving somewhat glumly at me. "Please do let Petunia know that I stopped by though won't you."
His voice had sounded particularly cold on that sentence but it seemed lost on my uncle. When it should have warned him to calm down it only served to fire him up more it seemed. It looked like his head might actually pop off of his shoulders when he puffed and threw the door closed. It slammed loudly in our faces and we just stood there for a moment. I was listening through the door as Vernon shouted at Harry and Albus was staring with hard eyes at the closed door with one of his hands shoved in his pocket. I had the feeling it was curled around his wand, and I wondered if he was about to curse the door down. Instead we just stood and listened to Harry get in trouble for giving out his address, but then the yelling stopped and with a succinct nod of his head Albus towed me away from the door. Neither of us spoke about the incident again, though I wrote a letter apologizing to Harry as soon as we returned home.
As summer went on, I got an idea into my head about the Quidditch World Cup that I couldn't get out of my head. After a few days of deciding if it was even worth it I approached Albus. I asked him there was any way that I might be allowed to sing the national anthem at the match. He told me that England's national anthem would not be sung because Ireland and Bulgaria would be the teams playing. He did promise that if I learned both of their anthems he would try to arrange an audition with Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch for me. I had no idea who those guys were, but I set to work learning the songs right away.
It was lucky I was busy with learning the songs and spending time with Cedric because I wasn't actually getting to see a lot of Albus this summer. He had a lot of business meetings planning something for the school next year, and he was being a bit secretive about it so I had no idea what it was about. Cedric had heard something was going on at school in the fall as well, but his father wouldn't tell him either. It was supposed to be a big surprise I guess.
On the third week of vacation Albus did successfully arrange an audition for me, and I was surprised to find how incredibly nervous I was about it. It wasn't like I had never performed before anyone before, but I suddenly felt like I had never even sung before and this was going to be a disaster. I decided to bring my guitar with me, not knowing if they would have music for me to sign along with, or if they would prefer I sung a cappella. I had no idea what they wanted really.
I decided to dress as professionally as I could for the audition, and though they didn't bother me any more I picked an outfit that hid my scars because I wasn't sure how they would be received. I wore a pair of black trousers and a white blouse with blue striping. I put on a pair of red heels and curled my hair before pulling it up into an up-do. As I was styling my hair I wondered if wearing a muggle outfit was the wrong choice. Should I wear robes instead? All I really owned was my Hogwarts robes, and I didn't want to seem too young for such a job. In the end I decided that my outfit would be fine, grabbed my guitar case, and went downstairs to join Albus.
"Do you want some breakfast before we go?" he asked me kindly.
"No," I said quickly.
"Bianca, are you falling into bad habits again?" he asked directly.
"No," I said in a rush. 'I'm just so nervous. I don't think I could keep anything down right now if I tried."
He chuckled, told me not to be so nervous, and offered his arm up for me so we could do slide-along to the ministry. I took a deep breath, and grabbed his hand. There was pressure, and then we were standing in the incredibly huge lobby of the ministry of magic. The shiny black marble walls were beautiful if a bit intimidating, and I wondered how difficult it was to keep them so clean.
Albus led me past a fountain and a row of fireplaces to an elevator at the end of the atrium. We clamored into the elevator and we were joined by a flock of animated purple paper airplanes. Albus pressed a number on the wall panel, and the elevator shot off to its destination. It moved very fast and I hand to stand up on my tiptoes to reach the handle hanging from the ceiling to keep myself from falling over.
We stopped on the third floor and a pleasant female voice announced all the different offices that were located on this floor. I followed Albus down the hallway to a door that had a gold nameplate that said Ludo Bagman. He knocked, and a deep male voice bid us to enter.
"Ah, Dumbledore, good to see you again," said a slightly pudgy but very happy looking man from behind the desk. "And there she is. You come very highly recommended Ms. Potter."
'Thank you Mr. Bagman," I said, trying not to let my nerves come through in my voice.
"Barty should be here any moment," Bagman said, running his hands together eagerly. "Then we should be able to get started."
Just as he finished speaking there was a sharp rap on the door.
"Ah, that'll be him," Bagman said. "Come on in Barty."
I was immediately glad that I had dressed professionally. Barty Crouch was wearing robes, but he may as well have been wearing a three-piece business suit. He had a very straight posture, his hair was combed perfectly, and he had the most precisely trimmed mustache I had ever seen. I stood up straighter in his presence automatically.
"Hello everyone," he nodded, crossing over to sit down beside Bagman's desk. "Shall we get started?"
"Yes of course," Bagman agreed quickly. "I can't wait to hear the girl sing. Have at it Ms. Potter."
I waited for all of them to situate themselves in their chairs. I noticed that Albus remained standing by the wall, and I got the impression that he was trying to disappear without actually leaving the room. I put the strap of my guitar over my shoulder, and took a deep breath before making eye contact with them.
"Hello, my name is Bianca Potter," I said in my most confident voice, using the introduction I had practiced with Cedric last night. "Do you have any preference as to which national anthem you hear first?"
They both shook their heads in the negative.
"Okay then. I will start with the Irish national anthem." I said. "I have earned them both in English and in their native languages. For today I thought I would sing them in the native languages."
The two men nodded, and Albus smiled brightly. I began to play my guitar and sing.
Seo dhibh a cháirde duan Óglaigh,
Cathréimeach briomhar ceolmhar,
Ár dtinte cnámh go buacach táid,
'S an spéir go min réaltogach
Is fonnmhar faobhrach sinn chun gleo
'S go tiúnmhar glé roimh thíocht do'n ló
Fé chiúnas chaomh na hoiche ar seol:
Seo libh canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann.
Curfá:
Sinne Fianna Fáil
A tá fé gheall ag Éirinn,
buion dár slua
Thar toinn do ráinig chugainn,
Fé mhóid bheith saor.
Sean tír ár sinsir feasta
Ní fhagfar fé'n tiorán ná fé'n tráil
Anocht a théam sa bhearna bhaoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil chun báis nó saoil
Le guna screach fé lámhach na bpiléar
Seo libh canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann.
Cois bánta réidhe, ar árdaibh sléibhe,
Ba bhuachach ár sinsir romhainn,
Ag lámhach go tréan fé'n sár-bhrat séin
Tá thuas sa ghaoith go seolta
Ba dhúchas riamh d'ár gcine cháidh
Gan iompáil siar ó imirt áir,
'S ag siúl mar iad i gcoinne námhad
Seo libh, canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann.
Curfá
A bhuíon nách fann d'fhuil Ghaeil is Gall,
Sin breacadh lae na saoirse,
Ta scéimhle 's scanradh i gcroíthe namhad,
Roimh ranna laochra ár dtire.
Ár dtinte is tréith gan spréach anois,
Sin luisne ghlé san spéir anoir,
'S an bíobha i raon na bpiléar agaibh:
Seo libh, canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann.
Curfá
I had barely finished singing, and Bagman was already clapping enthusiastically. I clearly had one fan, and that bolstered my confidence. I could see Albus refraining from clapping, but he had a brilliant smile on his face. Crouch had a small smile, but was still sitting firmly in his chair without clapping so I wasn't sure if he was entirely pleased with my performance. I told them I would now perform the Bulgarian national anthem, and opted not to apologize ahead of time for my pronunciation so it wouldn't appear that I lacked confidence in my own abilities.
Горда стара планина,
до ней север се синей
Слънце Витош позлатява
към Цариград се белей.
Припев:
Мила Родино,
ти си земен рай,
твойта хубост, твойта прелест,
ах, те нямат край.
Хайде братя българи,
към Балкана да вървим.
Там се готви бой юнашки,
за свобода, правдини.
Припев: Мила...
Crouch gave me a nod, and Bagman clapped enthusiastically once more.
"Thank you Bianca," Crouch said formally. "We still have a few more artists to audition, but we should get back to you within the next twenty-four hours to let you know what our decision is."
"Thank you for your time," I said quickly, recognizing the dismissal and turning to leave.
Albus followed me and we quickly left the ministry. I didn't speak on the way out, I was far too nervous. After we had apparated back into our kitchen I let out a long breath and sat down heavily in a chair, and put my guitar on the table.
"Oh my sweet Merlin that was so nerve wracking," I said with a breathy laugh as I tried to let all of the stress bleed out of my limbs.
"You did very well though," Albus said kindly. "I rather liked how you san the Bulgarian anthem."
"I think I may have pronounced твойта хубост wrong," I said quickly, worrying my hands. "Their inflections are a bit difficult to understand."
"I do not speak perfect Bulgarian, but I believe you had it right," he shrugged. "Now how about breakfast?"
"Gladly," I agreed easily. "I'm starving now that the butterflies have vacated my stomach."
We both laughed while Albus started to whip up pancakes. We ate a hearty breakfast, that was really lunch at this point, and I couldn't help but talk about the audition throughout the entire meal. As the day wore on, and we hadn't heard anything yet, I started to drive Albus mad with my constant worrying. He finally gave up and banished me from the house, telling me to go see Cedric, or go to the park and run in a circle or something if only to get rid of the nervous energy I was spreading about the house. I laughed at him and went to grab my swimsuit. I decided to see if Cedric wanted to head over to the swimming hole with me.
I threw my swimsuit and a towel in a bag and then hurried out of the house after Albus promised to contact me immediately if he heard anything. I skipped all the way to Cedric's house and hurried up to his front door trying to push all thoughts of the audition out of my head. I knocked on the door and Mrs. Diggory answered right away.
"Oh hello dear," she greeted with a smile, standing aside to let me in. "How are you today?"
"I'm good. How are you?" I asked.
"Oh I am quite well," she smiled. "I have been trying to convince Cedric to leave the house and stop going on about Quidditch terms to me, but I have yet to have any luck. Are you here to rescue me from my predicament?"
"That's right, Bianca to the rescue!" I chuckled, putting my fist over my head like I had seen a super hero do in a muggle movie once. "Albus booted me out for the day because I was driving him bonkers as well. I thought I would see if Cedric wanted to go swimming."
"Oy, is that Bianca down there?" I heard Cedric all from upstairs. "Tell her I'll be right down!"
"Oh, I'm sure she heard you sweetheart," Mrs. Diggory called back with a laugh before shaking her head. "Boys"
"Boys," I agreed with a laugh.
Cedric joined us quickly. He bounced down the stairs and quickly closed the distance between us so he could pull me into a hug, and then give me a kiss that made me blush and look at his mother with embarrassment. She just laughed and walked into the kitchen to give us a bit more privacy.
"I was just thinking about you," Cedric said, kissing me again, a bit more thoroughly.
"You liar," I laughed. "You've been thinking about Quidditch all day."
"No, I was talking about Quidditch all day to distract myself." Cedric whispered in my ear, causing goose bumps to erupt on my neck. "I couldn't very well tell my mother I was thinking about snogging you senseless."
"You cad," I said with a blush creeping across my cheeks again. "I came to see if you wanted to go swimming."
"Why yes, I would love to see you in a bathing suit," he said as if that was what I had actually asked him. "Let me just go grab my trunks."
I laughed at him as he sprinted up the stairs. He was only gone for a minute, but he came back down already wearing his trunks and a t-shirt with a towel thrown over his shoulder. He slid on his sandals at the door and offered me his hand. I didn't hesitate to take it, and we walked out into the sunshine.
The swimming hole was actually a few miles away, but it was worth the hike. Muggles never seemed to go there, and there weren't too many wizarding families nearby. There was a chance we could run into the Weasleys or the Lovegoods but they were always good company. I told Cedric all about my audition on the way there, and he told me not to worry that I was sure to get the job.
When we were finally there I made Cedric promise not to peak while I hid behind the group of trees at the edge of the pool of water to change. I found myself wishing I had just put my swimming suit on at home, but I hurried to get changed so he wouldn't be too tempted to try and look. I laughed a little at myself when I realized that my black bikini matched his trunks.
I watched Cedric as I came out from behind the trees. He was being a perfect gentleman and facing in the other direction to give me privacy. I was distracted by how great he looked in his trunks, his shirt having been shed and abandoned like his towel on the ground. His hair was glinting in the sun, and when he slowly turned to face me I could see the same sunlight twinkling in his eyes. The magical moment was broken when he wolf whistled at me, though I was flattered.
"Hush you," I chuckled as I joined him in the shallow end of the water, taking a moment to just enjoy the coolness against my skin.
"What, I can't appreciate the amazing body my girlfriend has?" he asked in mock offense.
"Sure, sure," I dismissed him, walking a bit further in so the water was above my knees.
"Bianca," he said, grabbing my wrist gently to make me look back at him. "If you only knew what you do to me. Don't you know how beautiful you are?"
"Do we have to talk about this?" I sighed softly. "It's not like I am calling myself fat or anything, but I am still working on liking how I look."
"If you saw yourself the way I saw you," he said before kissing my neck. "You would never worry about how you look."
"Mmm?" I murmured in reply when he kissed my neck again, making me tremble in response.
"I love everything about you?" he breathed as he trailed his lips along my neck up toward my chin.
"I love your hair," he told me before he placed a kiss on the crown of my head.
"I love your rosy cheeks, and their cute dimples when you smile," he said before he kissed me on each cheek.
"I love your soft lips, and the way they feel against mine," he told me before he pressed such a passionate kiss to my lips that he left me panting for breath.
"I love your long elegant neck," he said throatily before kissing a hot trail from under my ear down to the juncture where my neck met my shoulder.
"I love your shoulders, and how they get dusted with little freckles during the summer," he told me before gently kissing each shoulder.
"I love your scars," he breathed and then he leaned in and placed a kiss on each scar, stopping with a kiss to the part of my breast that was marred with the lightning bold shaped scare, and setting my heart racing.
"There are other parts of you that I love, but perhaps it would be a bit inappropriate of me to kiss them," he chuckled before pulling me into a hug that relieve a bit of the yawning need he had created in me with his ministrations.
"I love you," I breathed shakily into his shoulder, surprised by the effect he had on my body.
"I love you too," he said as he pulled me slowly deeper into the water with him.
We didn't really swim. We waded out until the water was up to our shoulders, and the Cedric picked me up so we could go out a bit further without me having to tread water. I wrapped my legs around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder as we just stood together letting the water move gently around us. He gently rubbed my back as he held me and I found myself relaxing further into him. He worked all of the tension out of my back, and I felt my nervousness slipping further away with every touch. I was slightly embarrassed to realize that his touches were eliciting small moans from me without my permission.
"Merlin," he breathed in my ear. "Do you have any idea what you are doing to me right now?"
I looked up to see his face, and he quickly captured my lips with his own. He kissed me with fervor, and it was different form the kisses we had shared in the past. We had always shared very careful kisses, not pushing out physical boundaries very far. I knew he did that for me because of my past and I loved him even more for it. This was different though. This kiss was practically desperate. Our lips were attacking one another, fighting for dominance, as if this was the last kiss they were expecting to receive and they wanted to make it worth their while.
I ran my fingers through his hair, and pulled him ever closer to me as his hands began to roam over my body. I had always worried that touches between us would elicit bad memories for me, but all I felt when his hands moved over me was electric tingles of pleasure. I pressed myself into him further and he groaned against my lips. Our lips broke apart, both of us gasping for air, and he quickly turned his attention to my neck. I groaned and fisted my hands in his hair as I turned my head to the side to give him better access. I could feel my body brushing with his with each panting breath I took, and when his hand closed gently over my thighs twitched and tightened around his wait involuntarily.
"Oh Merlin," I moaned, pulling his lips back to mine.
He kissed me gladly, and he allowed both of his hands to explore my chest for the first time. In that moment I was sure that I was in love with his hands. They were causing things in me that I had never felt before. He brushed his thumbs over my nipples and it sent a current through me that made me feel light headed and aroused. My eyes were just beginning to roll back in my head when I noticed a ball of light approaching the side of the pool.
"What's that?" I panted, not exactly eager to draw his attention away from what he was doing.
He reluctantly stopped what he was doing and we moved closer to the edge. I realized as we drew closer that it was a patronus of a phoenix. When we were standing in front of it, Albus' voice began to speak from somewhere within it.
"We have just received post from the ministry. You should come home so we can find out what their decision is."
We bother stared at the spot where the bird had been as it vanished while trying to control our breathing. I had forgotten all about the audition. There was a small part of me that wanted to continue forgetting them and go back to what we had been doing just moments ago.
"Well, let's get back them," Cedric said in a still somewhat husky voice. "I'll grab your towel for you."
He hurried out of the water and pulled my towel from my bag before bringing it back and wrapping it around me. He looked sad to see my body hidden from view, and I was more than happy to stare at his body that was still exposed. It looked even nicer flushed slightly red in places with water dripping over his muscles.
"Perhaps I shouldn't be allowed around you in a swim suit again," he chuckled, his flushed cheeks growing redder.
"Oh, I don't know," I breathed, stepping out of the water and slipping my sandals back on. "If that's the sort of reaction I'll get I may never wear anything else. I rather liked that."
"I think I could snog you for hours," he admitted somewhat guiltily as he grabbed his own towel and started drying off.
We both laughed as we gathered up our things and walked back to my place. Cedric wanted to hear the results as well, and I figured I would see if he could stay for dinner afterward. The walk home seemed to take forever, because I was so anxious to hear the news. Finally my house came into view, and I took off running not wanting to wait a second longer. Cedric had no trouble keeping up with me. We raced through the front door to find Albus waiting at the kitchen table with a letter in his hand and a smile on his face.
"Well, go ahead," he said holding it out to me. "Open it why don't you?"
I took the letter from his and tore it open with vigor. Then I promptly closed my eyes, too nervous to read it.
"Ahh, I can't." I whined. "You read it for me Cedric."
"Alright," he said with a light chuckle, and I felt him lean in close to me so he could read over my shoulder. "Congratulations Bianca! They picked you!"
"Yes!" I cheered, bouncing in place as I read through the letter myself. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
I promptly started jumping up and down in celebration only to have my towel fall off causing me to blush. I quickly stooped to collect it once more. I grabbed my bag form Cedric and hurried out of the room to get dressed. I tore off upstairs and traded my wet swimsuit for a pair of shorts and a tank top before heading back downstairs.
"I'm so excited!" I babbled as I rushed back into the kitchen. "This is so awesome! Oh my gosh, this is just so cool!"
"I can't wait to see you perform at the World Cup," Cedric agreed. "It will be the coolest."
"I still can't believe they chose me," I gushed. "I mean I am not even fourteen until next week. I thought for sure they would end up picking an adult."
"I think you underestimate your talent," Albus pointed out from the table. "Barty Crouch had a difficult time keeping an impartial face while you were there, and as you saw Ludo Bagman gave up even trying to."
"Oh Merlin, what am I going to wear?" I gasped. "I just realized how many people will be watching me. I can't look like a dweeb or something."
"You could never look like a dweeb," Cedric assured me before kissing my cheek chastely.
"Can Cedric stay for dinner?" I asked while my mind raced through different ideas of what to wear.
"Of course," Albus said with a smile. "I was thinking of making fruit salad and some sandwiches. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great Professor Dumbledore," Cedric said respectfully.
"Please Cedric, call me Albus while we are out of school," Albus asked.
"Yes sir," Cedric said, and we both laughed. Old habits were hard to kick.
We enjoyed a nice dinner together, and then Cedric went home for the night. I stood on the porch watching him disappear into the night before finally heading in for the night. I showered and went back to my room. I rushed through writing letters to Harry, Ron, and Hermione to tell them that I would be the artist performing at the Quidditch World Cup before going to sleep. I gave them Albus to send out, and then I finally went to bed. I had very interesting dreams about Cedric that night.