A/N: Sorry about the hiatus with Keeping Up the Pace… *cowers in fear* I've been really busy at school. I've just finished my freshman year at university, and I've been so busy that I haven't had time to update. But here it is, chapter 37. Please R&R. Thanks for sticking with me guys, you really are great readers.
Disclaimer: All characters, with the exception of Celia and Mick, are the creation of J.K. Rowling or the creators of Lost.
Cedric stood at the side of the Pace's backyard, hidden behind some brush. He could see Celia and Aaron, but they could not see him; Celia was in front of a large metal frame with netting along the back her back to Cedric, Aaron was 15 yards away, placing a black and white ball at his feet. Celia and Aaron, whose father was a muggle, had grown up experiencing muggle culture alongside the wizarding world; this included playing football in a league when they were children. Cedric had not seen Celia play football in years; since they had started dating, she had not permitted it, and before that, he only vaguely remembered watching her play. It was for this reason that when Claire, Celia and Aaron's mother, had informed Cedric that they were playing football in the backyard, that Cedric asked that she not announce his presence, and allow him to walk around back to watch them play. Aaron wound up for the kick and punted it to Celia's left. She reached out and caught it and started bouncing it on her knee.
"Come on, give me a challenge, Aaron!" she jeered.
"Good to see you're so modest, Ceel. But really, take some pride in your playing. Brag a little."
She grinned at him, dropped the ball, and kicked it back hard. He returned it, kicking hard, to her far right. She leapt and knocked it away with her hands.
"Wow," Cedric whispered. He had not realized she was good at football.
"That was a good save," Aaron said genuinely.
"Yeah, I'll say," Cedric said, stepping out from behind the bush.
Celia and Aaron whipped around, surprised. Celia's eyes were wide. Celia saw him and let out a little shriek, and her hands flew up to cover her red face.
"Cedric, what are you doing here? I look a mess!"
"Your family did invite me to stay the summer, remember?" Cedric said, crossing to them; he nodded to Aaron, "good summer so far?"
"Can't complain," Aaron smiled.
"Well, yeah, but… I didn't expect you till after dinner…" Celia looked around, looking for a way out of the conversation.
Cedric reached her and wrapped his arms around her. "But aren't you happy to see me?" he pouted.
"We… well… ye… yes… but I'm… my hair's a mess… and… I'm… sweaty…I…" Celia mumbled, rushing into the house.
"Congratulations," Aaron grinned, "I think you've managed to make her go completely stupid.
Later that night, Celia and Cedric were watching TV with Aaron when Cedric asked Celia a question.
"Ceel, have you ever thought of trying out for keeper?"
"What, you mean quidditch?" Celia almost laughed.
"Yes, quidditch. Weathers finished 7th year this year, so we'll need to hold tryouts this year anyway. If you're half as good on a broom as you are on the ground, then you'll make an excellent keeper."
"No, I really don't think so," Celia scoffed.
"C'mon, you're an excellent football… keeper."
"They're called goalies."
"Right. And you said yourself that you knocked Aaron out with a bludger last summer," Cedric pressed.
"Well, yeah, but-"
"It's true. I had a knot on my head the size of a quaffle for week," Aaron interjected.
"Why are you so opposed to trying out?"
"I've never properly played quidditch. Sure, I play with Aaron and Alex, but never properly played."
"Please? Just try out?" he asked.
"If I say yes, will you quit bothering me?"
"Yes."
"And will you have the rest of the team help to make the decision so, if by some freak occurrence, you choose me as keeper, people won't say that it's just because I'm your girlfriend?"
"Yes."
"Fine."
Despite the fact that her boyfriend was spending a sizable portion of the summer with her family, the summer was less enjoyable than Celia had expected it would be. Because of Cedric's strong desire to have Celia try out for quidditch keeper, and Aaron's apparent agreement with this decision, the pair spent a large amount of time making her practice. Celia supposed it was slightly her fault, as she had made Cedric agree to getting the rest of the team's consent on the new keeper, but that did not make her any less irritated with the constant training session.
The Pace house had, once again, become a thoroughfare for the Pace's friends and family, as it often did during the summer. Cedric met many of the people Celia talked about, as well as the family members that he had already met.
Celia's friend Alex from Beauxbatons arrived a few days after Cedric, and she moved into the spare guest room for the summer. Cedric remembered that this was tradition at the Pace household, as he remembered seeing her there when he spent two weeks at the Pace house the summer after his fourth year. However, he had been visiting as just Aaron's friend, not Celia's boyfriend as well.
Alex's mother, Danielle, stopped by frequently, not to check in on her daughter, but to visit with Charlie and Claire, Celia's parents. Cedric also met Celia and Aaron's godfather Hurley, a pleasant, heavyset man with long curly hair, who was quick to laugh and frequently used the word "dude."
There were also other faces that Cedric recognized; Celia's aunt Kate and uncle Jack visited as frequently as Hurley did. Cedric found them very pleasant as well; Kate was an Auror at the Ministry, and Jack was a Healer at St. Mungo's. They would arrive after they had both finished work, and would often help with dinner, and stay late into the night. Jack, who had played quidditch during his days at Hogwarts, sometimes gave tips when he saw them playing, and ran a drills with Celia on occasion. Less frequently visiting was Celia's uncle Sawyer, whom Cedric was still thoroughly intimidated of.
Cedric's parents stopped by on occasion, mostly for dinner. Cedric himself was there most every day, commuting over by apparition during the day, and leaving late into the evening.
The summer passed quickly, with days filled with quidditch and the occasional soccer game, which Cedric discovered he was not very good at, and nights filled with good food, lots of company, and loud conversations. A few times Celia and Alex managed to convince Cedric and Aaron to venture out of Didsbury, the suburb of Manchester in which the Paces lived, to the City of Manchester proper, to explore and so Cedric, being a pureblood, could see a bit of muggle culture.
Celia exchanged letters with many of her friends, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors alike. Hannah was in Scotland with her family, Ernie and Justin were spending the summer at their houses, and Mick was spending his summer trying to pick up every girl he could in London. She didn't hear very much from Ron and Hermione; from what she gathered, they were spending the summer together somewhere, and were very busy a lot of the time. She hoped that because of this, they would take a break with their bickering. Celia was also in fairly frequent contact with Harry, who was hungry for information about what was occurring in the wizarding world. She also talked with Cho through Aaron, who received letters from her periodically throughout the summer.
Very quickly the summer was over, and Cedric was able to visit less and less often as he prepared for school. He had been made Head Boy, and his parents were more than thrilled, but this meant even less time that he could spend with Celia. Celia had not been made a prefect; Hannah was the female prefect in Hufflepuff. Celia was not disappointed; Hannah had always been much more of a stickler for rules than she had, and she thought Hannah deserved to be prefect.
On September 1st, the Paces loaded up Charlie's car with trunks, Aaron's owl's cage, and Celia's cat, and headed for King's Cross.