A/N: Here is the next chapter… This chapter will have a prompt in it from the Are You Crazy Enough to Do It Challenge (AYCEtDIC) on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenge Forum (HPFCF)! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Criminal Minds, or Criminal Minds Suspect Behavior!

AYCEtDIC: 171. (dialogue) "I used to think that things were always black and white." / "You don't think that anymore?" / "No." / "Why not?" / "Because there are shades of grey. Not everything is good or bad, light or dark. There is a middle ground. We saw that. Hell, we faced that."

Word Count: 2,413 words

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Aaron looked at one of the red-headed twins. "Which one are you and what are you carrying with you?"

Fred smiled slightly. "I'm Fred and the other one is George. We used to be identical until George lost part of his ear. As to what I'm carrying it is a portrait of Cedric."

Emily's hand flew to her mouth. "He had it finished?"

Hermione nodded shakily as she leaned into Theo who held his arm around her tightly. "It was finished the morning of the third task. He never told Harry, but he had a bad feeling and pushed to make sure that the portrait was finished before the third task started. We all knew that if anything were to go down that Cedric would give his life so that Harry and his child could live. He had us promise earlier today that he would get a chance to talk to you, Mr. Hotchner, and I think that you should do it before Harry comes out of the bathroom."

Aaron swallowed and nodded. He looked at Dave with a raised eyebrow. "May I use your bedroom?"

Dave nodded firmly. "Of course, you can, Aaron."

Aaron looked at Fred. "If you'll follow me I'll show you where you can place it for now. When Harry comes out tell him that I'll be back out here shortly. I don't think that you should worry him right now and telling him that I'm talking to Cedric's portrait will worry him."

Fred solemnly nodded as he followed Aaron into a bedroom. "We won't tell him what you are doing until you come back out. Once you're finished talking with Cedric just leave his portrait here for now. We'll make sure that we get it before we leave."

Aaron nervously nodded and waited until Fred left Dave's bedroom after placing Cedric's portrait on the wall. He closed the bedroom door before he walked back over and stood in front of the portrait. He took in a deep breath and let it out before he looked up into the grey eyes of Cedric. "Hello, Cedric, it is nice to finally put a name to the face of the young man that my nephew has talked so lovingly about."

Cedric smiled sadly. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hotchner. I believe that we have some things to talk about."

Aaron smiled slightly. "Call me Aaron, Cedric. I think that we both want this conversation to go as easy as possible for us both. What would you like to know?"

Cedric was so much like he was in his life in his portrait life that he ran a hand through his hair. "I want to talk about Harry, Aaron. I want to know that you will treat him the way that he deserves to be treated. I want to make sure that you will NEVER hurt him like the people he lived with did. I need to make sure that him and my son or daughter will be loved and cared for since I can't be there to do it myself."

Aaron rubbed a hand down his face. "I promise you that I will never raise a hand to Harry. I promise you that I will always treat him the way he should have been treated growing up. I already love Harry, Cedric, and I will love your babies just as much. Yes, Harry is pregnant with twins and not just one baby. I won't lie to you, Cedric, and tell you that Harry is fine because right now he is anything but fine. He misses you something fierce and he always will."

He let out a breath. "From what I understand you are the first relationship that Harry has ever had. He gave you his heart and while he'll eventually love another right now he can't and won't see that. He needs time to heal and not just from his physical injuries. He lost you when he shouldn't have because one man didn't do what he was supposed to protect Harry and you. He has the world on his shoulders, but I plan to help him with everything that I can. We will be moving to a new house and your portrait of course will be going with you."

Cedric nodded. "Harry has always kept how and what he was feeling in and that isn't good on him or our babies. He needs to work through the hate, anger, and hurt that he is feeling because if he doesn't it will destroy him. I want Harry to eventually find someone to love him for him, Aaron. I don't want him and my children to be alone just because they lost me too soon. If I had lived I would have asked Harry to marry me and not just because he was pregnant. I'm not alive, so I need for someone else to help fill the big hole that I left in Harry's and my children's lives."

He shook his head. "Harry is not meant to be alone because it will slowly kill him. May I ask you a personal question, Aaron?"

Aaron frowned slightly. "You can ask me anything that you wish, Cedric."

Cedric huffed. "Is there a man around that you know that will be there for Harry even if it is just friendship right now? Do you know of someone who could possibly love Harry for Harry? Do you know of someone who wouldn't have a problem raising my kids as his own? I don't mean right away, but in the near distant future. I'd prefer Harry not to be alone for longer than a year because if he's alone longer than that then he will NEVER move on."

Aaron groaned. "My nephew is only fifteen, Cedric, and everyone that I know is older than twenty-one."

Cedric snorted. "Aaron, Harry is old for his actual age. He has been through and seen too damn much to remain at fifteen years of age even if that is how old he is right now. I don't mean that I want the relationship to progress past the platonic stage before he turns seventeen or eighteen. What I am talking about is there someone you know that he could become close to that maybe it could grow from the friendship they would have for a couple years."

Aaron thought for a moment. "There are a couple men I know that may fit the bill, but I won't push them together, Cedric. I will let them see where things go on their own. I know that you are trying to make sure that Harry isn't alone, but he needs to do what he feels is best for him and the two babies he is currently carrying. I can and will promise you that I won't let him get stuck in his own head or drown in sorrow. I may not know Harry that well just yet, but even I can tell that once he has given his heart to someone that it will take a long while before he's ready to move on."

Cedric bit his lip. "I just don't want him alone, Aaron. He has been through too much and has lost too much to go through life on his own. I don't want him to close his heart off when he has so much love to offer a person. I don't want him living with just his memories of me. I should have told him that I had a bad feeling about the last task, but I didn't want to worry him anymore than he was already worried."

Aaron shook his head. "I won't let him close his heart off, Cedric. I can tell how much you love my nephew. I promise that I won't let him wither away. I need to get back out there, but for now I will leave your portrait up here because a couple of my teammates may want to talk with you. Cedric, Harry was lucky to have you just like you were lucky to have him."

Cedric sighed. "Harry was my life and if I could be there today I would. Just make sure that he remembers that he isn't alone, Aaron."

Aaron shot a smile out at Cedric's portrait before he headed back to the living room. He slipped back into the living room unnoticed by Harry and a lot of the younger crowd who were sitting near Derek, Mick, and Sam Cooper's team who had arrived while he had been talking to Cedric.

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Harry gave Luna and Hermione a hug before he relented and sat down like Emily, Jessica, Sean, and Sebastian were motioning him to do. "How have you all been?"

Hermione ran a hand through her hair. "We're taking it day by day, Harry. How are you doing? Do you need anything?"

Harry shook his head. "Everyone here has been great and I really appreciate that they haven't pushed me to talked before I'm ready. I miss Cedric so damn much, but I know that he wouldn't want me to let myself get so lost in my grief that I forget to live. I have to think of these babies that I am carrying."

Luna sighed. "You were Cedric's world, Harry, and you know just as much as I do that he wouldn't want you to stop living. Life has been hell for you, but you're still alive and your babies need you and so do we. Life for all of us is going to take a while to get back to where it was before everything happened at the last task. We may not have been by your side, but we were still fighting for our lives when some of Riddle's minions made themselves known as we waited to see who would win the tournament."

Harry was aware of Derek, Mick, and some others joining him, Hermione, and Luna. "I used to think that things were always black and white."

Derek frowned. "You don't think that anymore?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "No."

Derek asked, "Why not?"

Harry took in a deep breath and let it out as he motioned to Hermione, Luna, Neville, Draco, Theo, Blaise, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Adrian, Marcus, Percy, Severus, Sirius, Remus, and Lucius. "Because there are shades of grey. Not everything is good or bad, light or dark. There is a middle ground. We saw that. Hell, we faced that."

Derek slowly nodded. "I can understand that, Harry. Life isn't always good or bad so there has to be a middle ground. What you and everyone else have been through recently is terrible, but I can promise you that while it doesn't seem like it right now that it will eventually get better. When you are hurting as much as you are you need to take things day by day. You can't forget what you have been through, but you can and will work past it."

He sighed. "You haven't had the chance to grieve for everything that you have lost, Harry. Once you do you will know that talking about your Cedric and what happened to you will help you to move on past the pain. What happened to Cedric was terrible and what you're going through now is terrible, but you will have to eventually make peace with it. You won't do yourself or you babies any good if you can't start to heal from what has happened."

Harry looked at Derek with tears in his eyes. "I never wanted my kids to know what it was like to lose a parent before they had a chance to really know them. I hate that Cedric won't be able to see them take their first step, hear their first word, or see them smile for the first time. It isn't fair that he was killed by a coward who didn't even give him a chance to fight back. He was only seventeen years old and he died because one fucking old man didn't do what he was supposed to and that was to protect his students. I'm not sure that I can get passed that."

Draco shook his head. "He isn't saying that you have to get past what Dumbledore did or didn't do, Harry. He is saying that you will have to make peace with the fact that Cedric isn't here in person. You want your kids to know their other dad then that means you have to be able to talk about him without your heart breaking open each time you do so. If you get too sad when you talk about Cedric, then the kids will pick up on and feel like they can't talk to you or ask him about him."

Harry swiped at the tears that fell from his eyes. "I know, and I will get better. I just need a bit more time is all."

Sirius nodded. "You have some time yet, Harry. We just don't want you to stress yourself out because it isn't good for you or the little ones. Have you decided where you will be living?"

Harry smiled slightly at that. "Armando found a house that I have that will work. It has forty bedrooms and a bunch of other things. It is called Emrys Mansion. Apparently, originally was supposed to be the White House before they decided to use another location for the White House. I actually can't wait to look around it. I do remember that I was told it has two Quidditch pitches even if I can't fly or play right now because of being pregnant."

Hermione chuckled at that. "The boys will be happy about that. How are you really feeling, Harry?"

Harry shrugged slightly. "I'm feeling weak and in some pain, but nowhere near as bad as I was yesterday and the day before. Sebastian has healed me all up so now all I have to do is rest and relax. I'm interested in seeing who else is gonna be put on bodyguard duty. I wasn't told so it should be interesting."

Sirius opened his mouth only to be cut off by Trevor who said, "Nine magicals just passed the wards and will be here shortly. They are almost to the porch already."

Sirius stood up and walked over to the door. He opened it just as the group got to the porch. He swallowed hard at the first sight of his brother. "Regulus!"

A/N 2: *snickers* I cut it off here because I didn't want to take away from the next chapter... The plus side is since I cut it off here and part of the next chapter is wrote... Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Click the button and let me know what you think!